Pokemon: The Darkness of Alola
by Darkrai Cresselia
Summary: Ailey, Ray, Lillie, and Hau begin their journey through the tropical islands of Alola! Through their travels, they will encounter friends and foes alike. But unbeknownst to them, there is a deeper trouble lurking in another world; hungry for the bright sunlight draping Alola. Can the group of four teenagers put a stop to this menace? Find out inside! Sun x Lillie
1. Prologue: Out of the Aether, Traditions

**_A/N:_ **_Hello! For those of you that don't recognize my username (which is likely gonna be all of you), I once wrote a few chapters of an Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon fanfic. Unfortunately, my story was brigaded by some group called Critics United (I think?) and I had over 1000 reviews from bots telling me to join some revolution or something. I didn't care enough to read through the same automated review over and over again. Anyways, I was forced to take down my story and I promised my few readers that I would re-upload the story when I felt the time was right._

_That time is now, and I'm finally confident with re-writing the foundation of the story I once had. If you were one of the two people (lol) waiting anxiously for the day I re-uploaded this story, then wait no longer! I apologize for the long time it took for me to get back into writing this, but I realized that my last story wasn't up to par with what I wanted to put out. Thus, I took some time to re-do my entire outline and changed up not only the contents of my chapters, but the premise of the story. Basically, I re-wrote **everything**._

_Anyways, without saying much more, I hope you guys enjoy the story! Leave a review or send me a private message if you liked it/hated it and have criticism or suggestions. I'm always open to that!_

_Side-note: Please do not drag me into any drama of PM me about any users you don't like that I should "look out for". I do not care._

**_Rated T for: Mild adult language, violence, and drug usage_**

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

**OUT OF THE AETHER**

_One year and three months before present day_

_How long can I keep this up?_

That was the only thought repeating through the boy's head as he sprinted as fast as he could through the halls of Aether Labs, swiping some light blond hair out of his eyes whenever it became a bother. His blood-red satchel was heavy and filled with various CDs, but he couldn't let that slow him down. The security alarms were blaring all throughout the facility notifying the entire building about a theft on the premises. He didn't have much time. His personal mission to break into his mother's secret labs and rescue all of his friends didn't go as well as he had planned, but he managed to save one of them at least. As he ran, he glanced at the shiny new Poké Ball in his hand, containing the only Type: Null prototype Pokémon that he was able to save.

Breaking into the secret labs at night wasn't hard to do as all of the scientists had gone to the sleeping quarters to rest for the next day. Additionally, his mother never suspected him of being a Pokémon thief and the only scientists that worked in and had access to the labs were the ones she trusted the most, so the security in the area was virtually nonexistent. He memorized the unlock code for one of the three Type: Null Poké Balls, but he was unable to guess the codes for the other two. His failure to enter the remaining two passwords set off the facility-wide alarm system, and he knew he had to give up on stealing the remaining two Type: Null Poké Balls and escape with the only one he could manage to save.

Type: Null was a mysterious Pokémon created from the parts of other deceased Pokémon. Its only purpose was to be a killing machine for a reason that the boy's mother never told him. When he first learned about its existence from a scientist that overstepped his confidentiality, he begged his mother to let him see it. She wouldn't allow him for the longest time, but finally, on his seventeenth birthday, she agreed to let him see it as a birthday gift. His curiosity turned to horror as he observed the experiments the various scientists performed on the three Type: Null prototypes, and his mission since that day was to release all of them so they would never have to suffer again.

He could never forget the agony in their eyes when they were forced into performing whatever useless experiments the scientists had for them.

_I promise I'll rescue your brothers one day, but today is not that day, _the boy thought to himself as he clipped Type: Null's Poké Ball to his belt and continued to run towards the Aether Paradise's dock system.

The Aether Paradise was a massive man-made island floating in the middle of the waters near the Alolan islands with the goal of improving Pokémon conservation practices. This meant the only way in and out of the facility was either by boat or by a Pokémon that could fly, and the boy didn't have any Pokémon that knew how to fly. Fortunately, he was raised from a young age by his father to learn how to control a boat. Life on an island mansion in the middle of the sea meant that his only way to the city was through a boat. It was one of the many things that interested his father before the... _incident_.

"_Remember, son, if something doesn't give you that rush of excitement, then it's just not for you,"__ his father reminded him as they sat together on one of the Aether Foundation's many boats, drifting out on the open sea. "But I can see it in your eyes, you love being out on the water."_

_The young blond boy laughed and babbled as he controlled the speed boat out on the tropical, clear blue sea. He would occasionally get too close to the powerful waves the speedboat created, but his father was able to help steer him away from them._

_"Daddy, can I be a professional sailor when I grow up?" He asked his father, eyes filled with the wonder and harmony of being surrounded by the calm waters._

_"You can be whatever you want, son," his father answered proudly, gently placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "As long as you're happy, I don't care what you want to be when you grow up. Remember that, just be happy."_

His father's words to him when he sailed for the first time echoed through his head as he snuck his way into the Aether Paradise docks. _Just be happy_. At this point in life, he was _certain _he didn't have any interest in being a sailor anymore, but he was still thankful for the skills his father taught him. With the alarms still blaring and the emergency lock-in system activating within the next five minutes, the boy had more than enough time to escape out of the facility before the dock's gate was programmed to close.

Because that was his only way out of the Aether Paradise now.

He stealthily maneuvered to a small cluster of empty boats marked with the Aether Foundation's emblem. Those boats were the property of his family and the ones he sailed on as a child, so he knew the passwords to start any of them up. Still going undetected, he made a great leap onto the side of one of them and climbed his way up into the cockpit, his mind void of any thoughts besides escaping.

_No turning back now._

He located the boat's start-up keypad and entered in the correct password. The boat fired up almost immediately and he took control of the wheel. With no time for second guessing his actions, he instantly throttled it straight towards the closing gate and out of the facility.

He was free. Type: Null was free.

* * *

_Three months before present day_

The frail blonde-girl could feel the spirit of her brother taking over her mind as she sprinted as fast as she possibly could. She couldn't believe what she was doing. Just a year after her brother had been branded a traitor and enemy to the Aether Foundation for stealing one of their prized Type: Null prototypes and escaping the facility by boat, she was performing the same heist. She approached a corner and adjusted her hat, pulled down her pearly white dress, and tightly zipped her large bag up. Her semi-formal clothes made it hard for her to run as fast as she wanted, but she had no choice but to make do with what she had.

There was only one thought on her mind: _escape_. Unlike her brother, she didn't know how to steer a boat. She didn't know how to fly on a Pokémon. She had never done any of those things in her life, and she wished that just once in her past she could have taken an interest in the outside world. Because she needed those skills now more than ever, she didn't know the way in and out of the Aether Paradise.

She didn't know how to break free of the walls she grew up in.

"I heard her coming this way!" She heard a coarse male voice shout.

"Let's get that spoiled bratty princess, then!" A loud female's voice responded.

_Oh no, I'm toast,_ she thought to herself as she cowered on the metal floor. The instant those researchers found her, she knew she'd receive nothing short of a horrifying punishment. _What's going to happen to me? Am I going to be locked inside the mansion until the day I die? _She knew there was a small prison system kept to rehabilitate any of the unruly Pokémon, and she most definitely did not want to be locked in there.

"I wish I knew how to get out of here..." she sobbed into her bag. "But I just don't know how..."

"There she is! I found her!" The male's voice exclaimed in triumph when he spotted the girl crouched in a corner. "You're gonna be in a world of pain when your mother finds you, princess."

"No! Please!" The girl pleaded as she looked to the male scientist, the female catching up behind him. "I just want to help..."

"I bet that's what your brother thought too, huh?" The female jeered at the girl, who had now broken down into loud crying. "Who would have thought? Brother and sister, both spineless Pokémon theives."

_Pokémon thieves_. Those words rang harshly in the girl's head. Was she truly a Pokémon thief? For wanting to escape her home for the sake of saving the life of a Pokémon?

But before the girl could respond, there was a high-pitched cry and a powerful light exploded from her bag.

In the blink of an eye, she was gone.

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

**TRADITIONS**

_Three months before present day_

"I'm telling you Kukui, I'm not sure if we're gonna have the funding to do this," Molayne sighed as he sat across the table from his old friend, Alolan Professor Kukui. It wasn't everyday that Kukui would make the trek from his home island of Melemele to climb up to Molayne's Hokulani Observatory, but whenever he did it usually meant important business. "I mean we have the money, yeah, but we've wanted to take on some new endeavors at the observatory."

Kukui didn't respond immediately. Instead, he took the opportunity to remove his lightly-tinted sunglasses, adjust his white hat, and stroke his small black beard in thought. He looked deep into Molayne's grey eyes, hidden behind his wide-rimmed glasses and shaggy blond hair.

"Do you know what I see, cousin?" Kukui finally asked in his signature deep, suave voice.

"You see... me?" Molayne responded, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"Besides just you. Do you know what I see?"

"You see... a lot of doubt about your great new idea."

"Oh cousin, I see an _insurmountable _measure of doubt coming from you," Kukui stated. "But I see more than just doubt, yeah. I also see a small hint of excitement, woo! I've known you for over ten years Molayne, I know you've been dying for this kind of opportunity to come to our beautiful Alola. Our motherland. Let's show some real Alolan pride, right cousin?"

"And you have the blessing of the four Guardian Deities?"

"I've only received the blessing of Tapu Koko so far..." Kukui muttered and stroked his beard again in thought. "But I have no doubt that the others would give me their blessings as well."

"In that case, I can't lie," Molayne shrugged. "The thought of bringing a Pokémon League to our very own Alola _is _an interesting idea."

"So let's make it happen, cousin! Can you just imagine all the curious, wide-eyed Alolan teenagers who now not only have their Island Trials to look forward to, but also the title of the 'Alola Region Champion'?"

"Truth be told, if we were on our Trials again and we had the opportunity to take on a Pokémon League, I think we would have finished them in half the time." Molayne admitted with a slight smirk. Whenever Kukui had some new brilliant idea, no matter how dangerous or stupid it was, he would always present it like the greatest idea in the world. This time was different, however. This time, his idea actually seemed like it would change the Alola region for the better. "Seems like it would be a hit with the kids now."

"So you're in?"

"I'm not sure if I'm personally in at the moment, but I can definitely allocate some funding from the Hokulani Observatory to help start construction on Mt. Lanakila."

"Yeah?"

"You've definitely convinced me, old friend."

* * *

_**A/N: **So there it is guys! Sorry about the prologue(s) being a little on the "short" side, but the last thing any writer wants to do is to add too much information into their prologue :)_

_Like I said, leave behind a review or send me a private message letting me know what you thought! I'd love to listen to your feedback! I already have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I didn't write the prologue up to my standards, so please let me know if you felt confused or bored at any point and I'll go back and fix it in an instant. Thanks for reading!_


	2. 1: I Choose Second?

_**A/N: **__So here's the first **real **chapter! Like I specified earlier, this is going to follow the plot of Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon more than Sun/Moon. That also means I've named the player characters "Ailey" and "Ray", since that is what they're referred to in pre-release media for USUM. Also, I'm choosing appearance 1/4 for Ailey and 3/4 for Ray (you can look up the character appearance select screen from USUM if you want to know what the four choices were, I **would** link it here but I'm not allowed to add links in my story unfortunately). Since I'm including both player characters in the story, I mainly just didn't want to make them look like twins lol._

_Additionally, I would like the "world" of my story to combine elements of both the games **and **the anime. This means I'm omitting things from the anime like Pokémon saying their own names (cause I mean seriously, that's not realistic at all) in favor of the game's (and Pokémon Origins's/Generations's) practice of Pokémon making noises that the species they're based off of does (IE - a Rockruff barking rather than saying "Rockruff"). Additionally, some elements from the anime that are absent in the games such as certain Pokémon being vulnerable to their type immunities (IE - A Marowak using Ground-type Bonemerang and successfully hitting a Pidgeot, even though Pidgeot is Flying-type)._

_Also, I want to reiterate this because it seems like **some** people didn't get the message. If you have a problem with certain users on Fanfiction, please **do not under any circumstance send me a message asking me to block them. **I'm not going to block somebody just because you told me to. I need a good reason to block someone. Another thing, please **do not leave a review just for the sake of counter-reviewing someone else's review.** It's immature and makes a mockery of my story. Please keep your drama as far away from me as possible. I don't want to see it._

_Anyways, sit back, relax, and (try to) enjoy! Leave feedback in the form of a review or a private message so I know what I'm doing well and what I'm doing terribly. Thanks for reading!_

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _****_Pokémon nor do I own any of their characters. This is merely a fan story written using the template Game Freak has provided with Pokémon._**

**_Rated T for: Mild adult language, violence, and drug usage_**

**_Update 1: _**_Sorry for the random update! I incorrectly referred to the first island as "Akala" when instead it should have been "Melemele". Hopefully nobody caught that huge mistake :)_

**_Update 2:_**_ I went back and read this and saw that I completely forgot to give **any **description to Popplio's and Litten's design, and that would be unfair to anyone who hasn't played Gen 7 yet. So I just added a few words here and there to give vague descriptions of them. __Also, don't fret, Chapter 2 will be out very soon :)_

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

**I CHOOSE SECOND?**

Ailey trekked up the hill towards the sacred Iki Town, her pale face flushed red with embarrassment. She just turned sixteen the week before, but it looked like her sixteenth year was off to a rough start. Her orange flowery tanktop and strawberry blonde hair were still dabbed in sweat from the random attack, despite Ailey having to walk back down the hill to go home and catch her breath.

How on earth could she have been terrified of a Yungoos of all Pokémon? In her defense, it _did _jump at her from out of nowhere. But did she really have to scream so loud? All the kids training their Pokémon nearby got to see her make a complete fool of herself. And she had _just_ moved to Alola all the way from Kanto too, so she would forever be known as the new girl who got roughed up by a puny Yungoos. Yungoos! Of all Pokémon!

What made things even more embarrassing was that Professor Kukui had to come to her rescue using the three starter Pokémon that _she was going to have to pick from!_ So her potential first Pokémon _also _got to see her make a total mess of herself. But the worst part of it all was that after they managed to scare the Yungoos away, Kukui told her that Yungoos normally didn't attack trainers. It just hopped in front of her and growled because she _scared it by running too loud_.

No.

Ailey was far stronger than that. Her friends back home in Kanto knew her as one of the most ruthless girls in their school. There was no way Ailey Selene of all people would be taken for a coward. In fact, she was the direct _opposite _of a coward. She was the most headstrong person she had ever known.

She took a deep breath and let the warm Alolan air fill her nostrils. As she slowly walked up the hill towards Iki Town for the first time, she took a moment to absorb the sights around her. Bright, flowering plants were blossoming to the side of the road. The sun was bright and high up in the air. The weather was nothing short of perfect for a tropical paradise like the Alola region.

She tried her best not to think of the Yungoos incident as she made her way up the steps towards Iki Town. Her thoughts drifted to the happiness that she would finally be receiving her very own starter Pokémon! But wait... that would be one of the three Pokémon that got to see its future trainer look like a total noob out in the wild. _And _the fact that she had to take a detour to go home meant that Hau would have beat her to Professor Kukui!

_Shit,_ she thought to herself. _Hau's definitely gonna get the first pick! That's no fair, he literally lives in Iki Town!_

Finally, she made it to the ceremonial wooden arch that signified the entrance to Iki Town. Even though Ailey had moved to the vibrant Melemele Island almost a week ago, she had never actually _been _to Iki Town. Most of the time her and her mother would only go to Hau'oli City to do some shopping and explore around the area a little bit. She hadn't ever stepped foot in the most sacred town on the island. She took a quick glance around the town and saw that it even more tribal than she had expected: large wooden cabins, tropical trees sprouting high in between the houses, and dirt roads connecting all of the neighbors into a central hub that took the shape of a small battlefield.

She heard some noises in the distance and saw a recognizable clump of dark green hair tied back in a ponytail. He was so easily identifiable wearing a pitch-black t-shirt on a bright sunny day. Hau! And wait... he was kneeled on the ground petting a Pokémon!

It was no fair! Hau _always _got everything he wanted since he was the grandson of the Island's kahuna and leader, Hala. Literally _everyone _on Melemele Island would do anything for Hau just to be in good spirits with his grandfather and the island's Guardian Deity, Tapu Koko.

"Wait!" Ailey shouted out as she ran towards Hau, who was standing directly under the Iki Town entrance arch. "You... you already picked your Pokémon!?"

"Oh, hey Ailey!" Hau stood up and shot her a grin, his eyes closed with a smile. "Sorry, yeah, I already picked Rowlet. Professor Kukui said you were taking too long to come over, so he let me pick first."

Ailey could just feel the anger starting to bubble up inside of her. How could that spoiled brat kahuna's grandson always get everything he wanted? It was no fair! There were other trainers who deserved just as equal of an opportunity!

"Are you _kidding _me?" Ailey hissed in frustration. She moved her eyes towards the small brown bird-like Pokémon standing next to Hau, a cute leaf-bowtie on its chest. "You got to pick first?"

"I... uhh... yeah..." Hau shrugged and scratched his head. "But you still have two Pokémon to pick from! And besides, I think Professor Kukui might have a little surprise for you to make up for that Yungoos attack you had to deal with."

"...attack!?" Ailey asked in horror. "Professor Kukui already told you about that!? What in the world!"

Her anger only rose up more and more. How dare Professor Kukui already tell her new traveling partner about her embarrassing story? It was her first time out in the wild! Obviously she wasn't going to have a smooth start to her journey!

"I mean, he _had _to explain why you were taking so long. But he talked about how brave the starter Pokémon were! At least you know you're going to be receiving a true partner Pokémon!"

"That doesn't help at all!" Ailey cried out. "And _I _was definitely braver than _any _of those Pokémon, are you kidding me?"

"Whoa-ho!" A deep voice shouted from the distance and Ailey and Hau turned to spot Professor Kukui walking down the Iki Town entrance stairs towards them with two small Pokémon by his side. "Looks like you finally made it, cousin!"

"You told Hau about the Yungoos incident?" Ailey asked loudly, purposely wanting the professor to know her frustration. "That's totally uncool!"

"Woo cousin, I'm sorry about that," Kukui apologized. "I had no idea you weren't fond of that moment."

"Fond? I thought I was gonna die!"

"You're right, I should have asked your permission before revealing that to Hau," Kukui apologized again.

Ailey took a minute to calm down before realizing that it wasn't such a big deal. She had only met Hau twice before, one time to help her and her mother move into their new Alola home and the other to introduce himself and his grandfather to her, and in the short time he saw her he admitted that he wasn't yet sure he was confident in his abilities as a future trainer. If he felt so open enough to admit that to her, then it probably wasn't _that _bad that he knew she freaked out at the sight of a Yungoos. And besides, there would certainly be more embarrassing moments on their adventure, so the Yungoos situation probably wouldn't look all that bad in retrospect.

Now, Ailey was just more upset that the Yungoos incident caused her to miss picking her starter Pokémon first, but that was her own fault. If she had been more prepared, then she wouldn't have even been in this situation. And she couldn't get mad at Hau for picking first anyways she _herself _felt entitled to the first pick. If they were both going on their journey at the same time, then it was only fair that the first trainer to meet Kukui would get to pick first. It was neither Hau's nor Kukui's fault, it was hers. She felt remorse for thinking that he was just a spoiled brat...

And besides, she didn't want Rowlet anyways.

"It's... it's okay..." Ailey sighed, finally fully calm from her initial anger. "So can I pick my new Pokémon now?"

Kukui initially didn't respond, and instead he pointed to the two Pokémon by his side. Ailey took a glance at the two remaining Pokémon, the Fire-type Litten and the Water-type Popplio. Before she even made it to Iki Town, she already knew which of the two she wanted, and she was thankful that Hau didn't pick it first.

"To be honest with you, professor, I'd made up my mind a long time ago," Ailey admitted, a light smirk forming on her face.

"Well, which is it?" Kukui asked, a look of curiosity on both his face and Hau's. "Litten or Popplio?"

Like Ailey had stated, she already made up her mind. In fact, she had made up her mind _before _she moved to Alola during her video chats with Professor Kukui where she got to see and interact virtually with the three starter Pokémon. Despite her preconceptions, she still wanted to take a look at both starters to fully decide whether she agreed with her initial choice now that she could see them both in person.

Popplio was a dark blue Water-type Pokémon that looked almost identical to a Seel from Ailey's home region. From her video chats with the professor she could tell that Popplio already had solid training in using attacks. She would occasionally see the professor directing Popplio to use moves like Water Gun and Disarming Voice with little struggle. Litten, on the other hand, was a black feline Fire-type Pokémon and wasn't as advanced as Popplio when trying to use moves. It could use moves like Ember and Scratch without much struggle, but it wasn't able to use other moves that the professor tried to teach it such as Night Slash. Even when she was it playfully battling with Rowlet and Popplio, it would usually get defeated rather quickly.

Which was _why _Litten was her choice.

"I pick Litten," Ailey announced with a wide grin. "There's so much Litten and I can learn from each other! I think I can help Litten grow and use moves efficiently while Litten can teach me how to be a better trainer. It's a match made in heaven!"

Kukui didn't even need to say anything as Litten rushed towards Ailey's feet with a purr of happiness. It nuzzled its head on her shin and she bent down to pet it between its ears. She couldn't believe she finally picked her first Pokémon! Her mom would flip with happiness! She couldn't help but feel bad for Popplio though, as it had a look of pure disappointment on its face. She felt bad for not picking Popplio initially, but she knew that with only two new trainers on the island, _one _of the Pokémon would have to remain unpicked. And unfortunately that was Popplio.

"We're gonna go on so many adventures together, Litten!" Ailey endeared her new Pokémon before grabbing it in her arms and standing up. She looked once again to the disappointed Water-type Pokémon. "What's gonna happen to Popplio?"

"You don't worry about Popplio here." Kukui shot her a grin and a thumbs up. "I'm gonna make sure Popplio gets trained up real well, yeah! In fact, I think I might raise her myself!"

"Popplio is a girl?" Hau asked, scratching his bushy hairdo. "How'd you figure that one out, professor?"

"When you've been researching Pokémon for as long as I have, you just know!" Kukui grinned and shot the teenagers a thumbs-up.

"What about ours?" Ailey asked, still holding Litten tight in her arms.

"Both of your Pokémon are males, yeah."

"Nice!" Ailey exclaimed and continued to pet her new Litten in her arms.

Kukui looked at the two brand new Pokémon trainers and how they interacted with their Pokémon, Hau a little bit cautious with his Rowlet to his side and Ailey being headstrong with her Litten already in her arms. They definitely had two completely different personalities, and Kukui grinned at the thought of them being able to travel the Alola region together, helping each other grow. Nothing made him happier than seeing two new Alolan trainers prepare for their journey around the island chain.

"So cousins, now that you two officially have your Pokémon, have you given any thought to nicknaming them?" Kukui asked. "Sometimes it can help strengthen the bond between trainer and Pokémon, yeah."

"You bet!" Ailey cheered, her Litten purring happily in response. "Since you're a Fire-type, I'm gonna name you 'Singe'!"

"Singe! Woo! He sounds powerful already!" Kukui gave Ailey a thumbs up. He glanced towards Hau who looked a little more uncertain than Ailey. "What about you, Hau?"

"I don't know..." Hau shrugged. "I think I'm gonna keep this little guy as 'Rowlet'."

"That ain't a problem, cousin!" Kukui smiled brightly. "Sometimes you don't need a nickname at all! All that matters is that the bond between you and your Pokémon is unbreakable, yeah!"

Kukui looked on as the two trainers interacted with their Pokémon again. Hau finally summoned the motivation to pick up his Rowlet, and he could tell from the look on Hau's face that he was already taking a liking to his new Pokémon. Now the duo picked their Pokémon and bonded with them... there was only _one _thing left to do.

"So guys, whaddaya say about a full-on battle!" Kukui suggested, eyes burning with the desire to spectate a good battle.

"A battle?" Hau asked, the tone of uncertainty returning to his voice. "Do you really think we're knowledgeable enough to battle with our Pokémon now?"

"Nonsense! A battle ain't about knowledge, it's about the passion, yeah!" Kukui answered proudly. He could tell Ailey and Hau both had noticeable skepticism in their eyes. "Okay, yeah, knowledge is definitely a huge part of a battle. But if you show true passion and synergy with your Pokémon and their moves, then not even the smartest trainer in the world can stand a chance against you! It's an unstoppable combo!"

Ailey and Hau looked at each other, mimicking each others' confusion. Ailey could see Hau was still a little unsure of getting his brand new Pokémon friend hurt in battle, but she wanted nothing more than to take part in her first ever Pokémon battle. Not to mention it would help rid her of the last shreds of anger she kept within herself. A battle was the cure she needed.

"I'm game. And besides, our Pokémon have already been trained up a little bit by Professor Kukui. We know they respond to certain moves." Ailey muttered with a sly smirk. "I can't think of anything better than a Pokémon battle right now."

"You... sure?" Hau asked before meeting her gaze. There was a certain fierceness in her eyes that Hau had never felt within himself before. If he wanted to be a true Pokémon trainer that his new Rowlet trusted, then he had to match that level of intensity. He shot Ailey a smirk back. "You know what... let's do it."

"Woo!" Professor Kukui cheered and pumped his fist in the air. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

The two teenagers spaced themselves out across from each other, leaving a decent-sized patch of grass for them to battle on. Hau let Rowlet hop out of his arms and in front of him, and Ailey did the same with Singe. The two trainers exchanged fierce gazes as their first ever battle was about to begin.

"Ready, set, go!" Kukui announced.

"Singe, use Ember!" Ailey commanded her new Pokémon.

"Rowlet, hop away and use Leafage!" Hau responded.

The Litten spat out small orbs of fire at Hau's Rowlet, which the Grass Pokémon was able to hop away from without an issue. While in midair, Rowlet opened its wings and let out a storm of leaves at Singe.

"Singe, get away!"

Ailey's command was too late and her Litten was peppered by the small leaves. It purred in mild pain and glared at Rowlet.

"Singe, let's try this again!" Ailey shouted. "Ember!"

"Rowlet, dodge and use Tackle!"

"I was hoping you'd use that," Ailey winked. "Let it get close and burn it with another Ember!"

Singe shot out another round of small fireballs at Hau's Rowlet. Sensing its weakness to Fire-type attacks, Rowlet attempted to hop out of the way again. This time, however, Singe's Ember attacked managed to strike Rowlet's feet while it was in midair. The bird Pokémon hooted out in pain, but didn't forget its trainer's order. It landed back on the ground and charged at Singe, who was already anticipating the move. Before Rowlet could get too close to Singe, Singe expelled a third round of fireballs at Rowlet.

A direct hit.

"No, Rowlet!" Hau cried out to his outmatched Pokémon.

"Awesome!" Ailey cheered and pumped her fist.

Rowlet tried its best to stand up, but the two Ember attacks in a row took a toll on the Pokémon's health. It took a labored breath and collapsed on the ground facefirst.

"Rowlet! Oh no!" Hau shrieked and ran over to his Pokémon, kneeling on one leg to comfort it. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, cousin," Kukui assured the boy and kneeled down next to the two. "Pokémon have the natural ability to give up when they have no fighting power left. All you gotta do is heal it up and it'll be good to go again."

Hau sighed deeply in relief and called his Rowlet back into its Poké Ball. He stood up and looked to Ailey, who managed to defeat him like it was nothing.

"That was... impressive..." he complimented her, scratching his head with a slight frown. "But I won't let you get the best of me next time."

"Right on," Ailey responded, calling Singe back into its Poké Ball before walking over to shake Hau's hand. "But, you know, next time better be soon. I don't think I can wait too long to have another battle with you, buddy boy."

_I'm gonna be the greatest, _Ailey though to herself. _I haven't even started my journey yet and I'm undefeated. Hell yeah._

"I've got good news for you guys, then," Kukui began, standing up from his kneel. "Your next time is gonna be tomorrow evening, woo!"

"Tomorrow evening!?" Both teenagers asked simultaneously, and Kukui couldn't tell if it was in excitement or horror.

"You got it, cousins!" Kukui reiterated. "Tomorrow evening. Every new Pokémon has to battle it out in front of the Guardian Deity for their approval, so we've scheduled a festival for the both of you tomorrow. When it's time, you'll battle it out against each other and hopefully we'll hear Tapu Koko give you the all clear to begin your island challenges."

This time, Kukui could definitely see excitement in their eyes. Ailey and Hau once again locked arms for a handshake, letting each other know through a nod that they were ready for their battle tomorrow evening. And neither one was going to take it easy.

* * *

_Breathe in._

_Now breathe out._

_Breathe in._

_Now breathe out again._

The warm, salty sea air traveled in and out of Ray's nostrils like a channel. The breeze blew some dark brunette hair off of his eyelids as he sat lotus-style, eyes closed, and focused on his meditation. One of the most important lessons his favorite teacher at Hau'oli's Trainer School always reminded him of was that nature was the backbone of everything. Humans could do whatever they pleased, but once their time ran out, nature would find a way to grow over their legacy. In order to be his best, Ray needed to become one with the world around him.

Feeling his body at peace, Ray opened his eyes and took in the sights around him, letting his eyes adjust to the bright sunlight at first. He sat at the edge of a tall cliff overlooking the pristine Kala'e Bay. As a young child, his parents would always take him down to the bay for some much needed swimming time, but now that Ray was older at sixteen, the bay meant something more to him. The bay was a sign of harmony, a sign of nature's purity, true evidence that nature was a sentient being capable of carving powerful landmarks.

He reached into a pocket of his cream white basketball shorts and pulled out the lone Poké Ball he had in his possession. Placing down onto the ground next to him, the Poké Ball burst open and his Bagon materialized next to him. The Bagon sniffed the air curiously and then hopped into its trainer's lap.

"Who's a good boy, Fafnir?" Ray playfully asked his Pokémon and lightly petted it on its protruding grey head-ridges. Ray looked at his surroundings, reminiscing about the day he met his trusty Bagon not more than a month ago. "Remember boy? This is where we became friends!"

His Bagon purred happily in his lap and Ray continued to pet it. Finding and befriending Fafnir wasn't easy, especially since Ray's parents never let him go on his own Pokémon journey, much to his disappointment. It was made especially worse by the fact that his older sister Sol was allowed to go out on her own, although her method of convincing their parents was a lot more effective and foolproof than his. In the time after his sister was finally able to leave home, his arguments with his parents started to become a more frequent occurrence.

_"That's no fair!" Ray complained to his parents. "I graduated from Hao'oli's Trainer School as the only student without a single Pokémon! Don't you think I'm old enough to raise Pokémon now?"_

_"No, Ray, you're not ready yet," his father told him for the millionth time, his head shaking in disappointment. "There's not a chance your mother and I will allow you to explore Alola on your own."_

_"I don't have to be alone!" Ray tried persuading his parents. "What if I went with friends?"_

_"O-ho!" His mother laughed, only making Ray angrier. "And who might those friends be?"_

_"I can make them!" Ray pouted and crossed his arms. Truthfully, he didn't have very many friends. And the few he had already graduated from the Trainer's School and left on their own journeys. Ray was the only loser in the school who was forced to stay at home. "And besides, I'll have my Pokémon by my side! I won't be alone!"_

_"No means no!" Ray's mom shouted at him, her anger raised far more than his. "And that's final!"_

_"But you guys got to go on a Pokémon journey when you were my age! How is that fair that you could go out into the world when it was far more dangerous than it is now? And besides, you let Sol go on a journey! Why can't I?" Ray couldn't believe the utter hypocrisy of his parents._

_"Ray Kau Elio! How dare you try and compare those two situations!?" His mom screamed at the top of her lungs. She seldom called Ray by his full name unless she was livid. "Your sister is off at Ula'ula University studying to become a Pokémon doctor. You just want to frolic in the world without any consequences. Your situation is far different than hers!"_

_Ray so badly wanted to tell his parents that instant that they were wrong about his sister. He wanted to tell them that she was lying about going to Ula'ula University and that she was actually traveling throughout the Kalos region with her boyfriend. But he held his tongue, for his sister had never wronged him like his parents had._

_"That's literally not fair at all!" Ray finally managed to shout out._

_"Life isn't fair, and as long as you live under our roof, you'll have to deal with it," Ray's mom stated. "We're finished here."_

Ray's mind kept flashing back to that last argument he had with his parents just a week ago. It would always be the same thing. He'd try and persuade his parents into letting him go on a Pokémon journey, they'd complain about how dangerous a journey truly is, they'd start yelling at each other, and Ray would finally lock himself in his room. His only experience with Pokémon outside of the Trainer's School was by watching clips of his idol Lance from the Johto region on YouTube smoking trainers who came to the Indigo League. He wasn't going to be able to survive as an adult with his parents robbing him of his chance to experience the real world.

Oh man, if his parents somehow found out he was training a Bagon behind their backs, their faces would change into colors he'd never seen before. It was already hard enough to befriend Fafnir over the course of a few months when he only had a few chances to sneak out of the house at night. And on top of that it was even harder to steal an empty Poké Ball from his father to keep Fafnir in. There was no way he'd release his best friend back into the wild just because his parents told him to.

It was that moment that a risky thought came to Ray's mind. If he kept staying at home, then he'd _never _get the chance to see the Alola region for himself. He'd be trapped in a vicious cycle of waiting for his parents to finally allow him to go on an adventure, which he knew they never would. If he wanted to go on an adventure, he would have to do so without letting them know.

He would have to run away.

"Hey Fafnir," Ray muttered and looked down at his trusty Bagon, who looked back up at him to meet his trainer's gaze. "Tomorrow, we're leaving home. You and I are going to see the entire Alola region. We're going to meet so many new friends, get stronger together, and we're going to complete the island challenge. As long as we're together, there's nothing that can stop us. Ray Kau Elio and his trusty partner, Fafnir the Bagon, the greatest duo of all time."

_Ray Kau Elio and Fafnir. The greatest duo of all time._

* * *

_**A/N: **Once again, thanks so much for giving it a read! Like I've said previously, please let me know either through a review or a private message what you liked and what you hated! I genuinely do appreciate when you guys leave behind good (objective) criticism and let me know of any errors/mistakes in my story. :)_


	3. 2: The Festival of New Beginnings

_**A/N:** Completely sorry for not mentioning this earlier but I want to clarify that you probably won't see any updates on the story over the weekend. I'm usually busy during that time so my access to this site is fairly limited. On rare occasions, I'll be able to update during the weekend, but like I said that's only on **rare **occasions. Anyways, let's get Chapter 2 started!_

_Side-note: If none of you guys heard the news yet, there's a __**Pokémon Direct announced for 6AM PST tomorrow morning**! __There's lots of speculation that the Direct will reveal **the long awaited Gen 8** (we'll definitely get the logo reveals, possibly even starters and the cover legendaries if we're extra lucky) :)_

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _****_Pokémon nor do I own any of their characters. This is merely a fan story written using the template Game Freak has provided with Pokémon._**

**_Rated T for: Mild adult language, violence, and drug usage_**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

**THE FESTIVAL OF NEW BEGINNINGS**

"Bag." _Check._

"Hat." _Check._

"Trainer belt." _Check._

"Singe." _No check. _"Singe?"

"Mrowr!" The small Fire-type purred and scurried out from under Ailey's bed.

"What in the world were you doing down there, buddy?" Ailey teased her Pokémon. "We've gotta get ready and go soon!"

Ailey stood in front of the mirror and took a second to make sure she looked good enough for the festival. She had cleaned her favorite orange flowery top and white shorts after getting them sweaty the day before during her Yungoos "attack". She made sure to put on the new hat that her mom bought her while she was receiving her starter Pokémon, a small straw sunhat that was decorated with a red flower on top. It rested comfortably on her head and gave room for her strawberry-blonde pigtails to breathe. Finally, she slung her large yellow satchel around her shoulder, clipped on her trainer belt, and gave herself a wink with her sky blue eyes.

_Let's do this_, Ailey thought with a wide grin. Even though she received her starter Pokémon yesterday, _today _was the day that she would officially be a licensed Pokémon Trainer.

A deluge of emotions cascaded through her mind. Not only was she going to go on her very own Pokémon journey, she was going to do it on the tropical paradise of Alola! She'd always dreamt of raising a team of various different Pokémon so she could learn how to study them and become a Pokémon researcher herself. Growing up in the Kanto region meant she was very familiar with the vast studies of the famous Pokémon Professor Samuel Oak, but she'd never actually had the chance to meet with him herself. She had a few ideas on where she wanted to focus her research expertise, but nothing would help her home in on an idea like raising her own team of Pokémon.

Ailey was interested in battling as well, but nothing gave her a rush quite like learning how each Pokémon got its power. She decided that when she finally figured out what combination of Pokémon would make the most powerful team, she would start to take battling a little more seriously. Traveling around an entirely new region with lots of Pokémon she had never seen before would be the perfect opportunity for her to begin her research.

"Ailey, sweetie!" She heard her mother call out from the living room. "Your friend Hau is here!"

_It's time._

Ailey took a deep breath, gave herself one last look in the mirror, and dashed into the living room. There, she spotted a smiling Hau who was already packed and ready for the festival. By his side was his trusty Rowlet, who seemed to be acquainting well with her mom's Meowth.

"I'm ready, are you?" Ailey asked her future battle partner. "I've been itching to do this already."

Hau grinned wide. "You bet! Me and Rowlet have been counting the minutes."

"Then what're we waiting for? Mom, you'll come to the festival later, right?"

"Oh, don't you worry kiddos!" Ailey's mom answered. "I'm just going to get a few boxes unpacked with Meowth here and then we'll head right up to cheer you guys on!"

"Last one to Iki Town is a loser!" Hau shouted at the top of his lungs and sprinted out of the door.

"You'll never get there before me!" Ailey shouted in response and took off behind him.

* * *

Ailey and Hau didn't have the energy to spring all the way up the hill to Iki Town, so they slowed down by some tall grass and palm trees to catch their breaths. The hot Alolan air would take some time for Ailey to get used to, but she liked the way it felt on her skin when she _wasn't _busy running. Even though the evening sunset was beginning and the sky was painted a deep orange, all around them wild Pokémon were still crawling in the grass or fluttering through the air. So many new Pokémon that Ailey had never seen before!

"Wow, Alola really does have a lot of different Pokémon, huh?" Ailey panted, trying to keep track of all the different Pokémon she could spot. She saw several different bird and bug Pokémon in addition to those stupid Yungoos that were completely foreign to her home region of Kanto. "We never had anything like these in Kanto. Well we had Caterpie and the occasional Ledyba that crossed over from Johto, but most of the Pokémon here are completely new to me!"

"Yeah, Alola totally has the coolest Pokémon in the world," Hau stated, a proud smirk wiped on his face. "Most of the species here can't be found anywhere else."

"I'm just trying to let it all sink in, you know?"

The two of them sat under a tall palm tree and took in all the sights. They occasional saw a few villagers make their way up to Iki Town to watch the festival, but they were more focused on the Pokémon around them. The Alolan Pokémon were definitely more energetic than the ones Ailey saw in Kanto, and she figured that was just natural in the tropical paradise.

She looked to Hau to see if he was ready to continue the walk towards Iki Town, but she could see that he was lost in thought. "What's on your mind?"

"I just... I just thought of an idea." Hau answered softly. "But I'm not sure if it's something we can do yet."

Ailey glanced at him in perplexion. "You had an idea? Tell me!"

Hau didn't initially answer her and instead removed his fiery orange backpack. After fumbling inside of it for a bit, he pulled out a handful of small orbs. Ailey already knew what those were... Poké Balls!

"Are those your Pokémon?" Ailey asked in awe. How did Hau have so many Pokémon already?

"Oh! No, definitely not!" Hau grinned. "These are empty Poké Balls. I have ten here that my gramps gave me as a gift last night. My idea was that I take five, you take five, and whaddaya say we try and see how many Pokémon we can catch? I haven't ever tried to catch a Pokémon on my own, and I don't know if you have, but I figured it would be cool to try."

"Wait... really?" Ailey's eyes lit up. Her mind flashed back to all those times in Kanto when her mother would show her how to catch a Pokémon. While she'd never actually tried it for herself, she definitely picked up on some of the motions she saw her mother do. "I definitely think _I'm_ ready to at least try this."

"Yeah! We can even use them in our battle today, provided we keep it even." Hau smiled brightly. He handed her half of the Poké Balls he pulled out. "Actually, why don't we twist the rules a little bit?"

"T-Twist?"

"Hmm..." Hau looked at the sky in thought. "Let's say whoever catches the most Pokémon gets to... call the first move in the battle!"

Ailey smirked. Growing up in the Kanto region where battling and capturing were always popular meant she had competition in her blood. "That's actually a genius idea, let's get to it!"

Nodding in unison, the pair stood up and began scouring around the area separately for the coolest wild Pokémon they could find. Ailey was _definitely _going to be the owner of a full Pokémon team, she just wondered if Hau would be able to keep up with her!

Ailey already had her eyes set on a cute insect Pokémon with two large orange mandibles that she assumed was a Bug-type. It was innocently crawling around the pair when they were sitting down and taking a break, and Bug-types would be the best Pokémon for her to research first. They were so weak in their base forms, but they gained power rapidly and were staples on lots of Kanto Pokémon teams due to that. She remembered seeing so many Ace Trainers in Kanto using Pokémon like Beedrill and Butterfree, Pokémon that were completely useless before they evolved but quickly turned into formidable teammates.

Knowing that Bug Pokémon had a crippling weakness to fiery attacks, she brought Singe out of his Poké Ball. Before even trying to battle the small Pokémon, she attempted to coerce the small Pokémon into joining her team by playing around with Litten. Ailey threw a Poké Ball at its back when it started playing around with the two of them but it broke free without even shaking once, destroying the Poké Ball in the process. It looked back at Ailey with sharp annoyance in its eyes.

She frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "This little one isn't so easy to catch. Right, Singe?"

"Mrowr..."

"Yeah, I could have thrown that Poké Ball a lot better. Maybe it wants to battle us?"

"Mrowr!"

"Okay!" Ailey nodded. "Let's show this little guy what we can do! Singe, use Ember!"

Singe purred and shot out a flurry of small fireballs at the small insect Pokémon. It looked fairly young, so it didn't have the speed or the experience to process the fact that fireballs meant danger! The Litten's attack hit the bug Pokémon dead-on and it scuttled around in circles.

_Oohh... we shook it up a little too much..._ Ailey thought. _But I'm a Pokémon Trainer, I've gotta show these wild Pokémon that I'm strong enough to have them by my side!_

Instead of commanding her Litten to attack the Pokémon again, Ailey pulled out one of Hau's Poké Balls from her pocket. She adjusted her straw hat and this time made sure to fling it directly at the Pokémon's head, hitting it right in between its mandibles. Ailey watched the ball shake for what felt like an eternity before it broke again. This time when the Bug Pokémon broke free, it looked determined.

"Are you kidding me!? Litten! Get it with another Ember!"

Litten nodded in agreement and used another Ember attack on the weak Pokémon. The new Pokémon was more prepared for a battle this time and dodged most of Litten's fireballs, but it still got hit with a few of them.

"We can't weaken it too much or it'll run back into the trees," Ailey muttered to Singe. "So let's see if it's weak enough now!"

Ailey pulled out another one of Hau's Poké Balls and threw it at the Bug Pokémon. This time, however, she missed it completely and the ball flew into a patch of trees and out of sight.

"Dammit!" Ailey cursed. "Now we only have two Poké Balls left!"

The Bug Pokémon made some sort of weird victory buzz and hopped around in glee. It was clearly having fun battling with Singe but Ailey was starting to become uncertain that it wanted to join her team.

"Singe!" Ailey called out to her Litten. "I've seen you use 'Scratch' in a video chat with Kukui. Think you can strike this little guy with a Scratch attack and still manage to keep its energy up?"

Litten nodded and pounced at its opponent. The small Pokémon tried to scurry away from Singe but it wasn't fast enough and Singe clawed at it viciously. It buzzed loudly in pain, but it seemed to be _enjoying _it. When Ailey felt like Singe had done enough damage, she threw her fourth Poké Ball at the Pokémon and managed to strike it dead center on its head.

_Here we go again..._

Ailey and Singe watched in agonizing patience as the Poké Ball shook violently. There was a glowing red light at the center button that faded on and off chaotically. The Pokémon in the Poké Ball had free will of whether it wanted to join a trainer's party, so if it was weak enough it would eventually accept the trainer of being worthy.

_Shake._

_Shake._

_Shake._

_Click!_

"No way!" Ailey cheered loudly and rushed to pick up the Poké Ball containing her new capture. "We caught a... a... actually I don't know what it's called but since you like to buzz a lot I'll call you 'buzz'!"

"Mrowr!" Singe purred proudly.

"Now we just have to see what Hau is-"

Before Ailey could finish her sentence, her friend had already approached her with Rowlet perched on one shoulder and a new bird Pokémon on the other. Ailey observed the small bird Pokémon. It was black and white with a long orange beak.

She pointed at it curiously. "What on earth is that?"

"This little guy's a Pikipek!" Hau smiled and handed his new Pokémon a small candy. "It took all five of my Poké Balls, but I managed to catch it eventually. Admittedly, I threw a few Poké Balls off the hill trying to catch him, but he was real eager to take part in the festival!"

"Nice!"

"So what about you?"

"I managed to catch this cute Bug-type Pokémon, but I don't know what it is," Ailey admitted.

"Care to show me?"

"I don't wanna take it out right now just cause it's a little hurt, but it's white and orange and it likes to buzz a lot, so I named it 'Buzz'!" Ailey answered, petting her new Pokémon's Poké Ball before clipping it to her belt.

"Mrowr!" Singe purred in approval.

"If I'm thinking right, then you just caught a Grubbin!" Hau exclaimed. "They're pretty common but kinda hard to raise."

"They're... hard to raise?" Ailey asked in surprise. She had always been under the impression that Bug-types grew up fast! "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, we don't really know how to evolve it into its final form," Hau shrugged. "Some trainers have been able to do it, but it just comes about randomly. Even the professor has no idea..."

"I guess I'm just going to have to _research _that for myself then," Ailey sighed. "So you only caught that Pikipek then?"

"Yep, you?"

"I still have one Poké Ball left, but I think I'm gonna save it. That way, we can have a fair 2-on-2 battle!"

"Yeah? In that case, let's just call you the winner since it took you less Poké Balls to catch your Grubbin."

"I think that's fair," Ailey smirked. "So what are we waiting for? The sun's almost completely down, let's get to town!"

* * *

Ray couldn't contain his excitement as he ran through the cliffs of Melemele Island towards Iki Town, where he learned the famed Professor Kukui would be hosting a large festival! If Ray played his cards right, he might be able to start on his adventure a little earlier than he had hoped for. His plan was to get to Iki Town during the festival, watch any battles taking place, and then convince the professor to give him an island challenge amulet so he could finally go on his very own Pokémon journey. His plan was foolproof!

Sneaking out of his house was a lot easier than he had expected. His parents went to Hau'oli City for some shopping and wouldn't be back until nightfall, so after they had left he placed a small note saying that he was leaving for an adventure on the dinner table, changed into his favorite blue tanktop and white athletic shorts, and bolted out the house. In order to make sure his parents couldn't find him easily, he lied by saying that he would be taking a boat to the nearby Akala Island instead of exploring his home island of Melemele first. It was bittersweet to leave home, but Ray had been held down by his parents for far too long. It was time for him to take charge of his own life.

As he descended down the cliffside hills towards where Iki Town was, he could hear loud drumming and tribal singing. Living on Melemele Island his whole life meant he was familiar with the customs, and the particular songs that he could hear were songs about commemorating new Pokémon Trainers who were beginning their island challenges. His plan just became even more perfect! That meant Kukui _definitely _brought island challenge Amulets with him!

Finally, as the sun descended and the moon took its place in the sky, Ray made it to the entrance of Iki Town. He gave himself a minute to catch his breath before walking up the stairs into the town's center. Even though he had been on Melemele his entire life, he had only been to Iki Town a few times and had _never _been to any of the island challenge festivals. His parents feared that it would inspire him to want to go out into the world alone, so they never permitted him to go. He _hated _how much they babied him, and he knew he was beyond capable of exploring the world, let alone the Alola region.

He could tell that villagers from all over the island traveled to Iki Town for the festival, as Iki Town did _not _have as many residents as the crowd size. They were all circled around a small battle stage in the center of the town, loudly speculating on who the new trainers were and what the battle would look like. Trying not to get spotted by any of his family's friends that might have attended the festival, he made his way towards the back of the crowd, making sure to still have a good view of the battle when it began.

_Bingo._

In the distance by the stage Ray could see the esteemed Alolan Pokémon Professor Kukui! His heart skipped a beat as he finally realized just how _damn close _he was to beginning his own journey. All he would have to do was sneak through the crowd undetected and ask the professor for an island challenge amulet. It was surefire!

"Help!"

Ray heard a faint shout echo from the distance that quickly snapped him from his thoughts. He glanced around the crowd to see if anyone else had heard it but everybody seemed to be deep in their conversations.

_That was weird... maybe I just heard a small part of a conversation?_

"No, please!"

Ray heard the same voice cry out again. It was _definitely_ a girl crying out for help. This time, he was _positive _he heard it coming from behind him. He turned around quickly and his jaw dropped when he realized where he was standing.

Behind him was the gaping hole in the mountain that led to the legendary Mahalo Trail. It was a long passage through the mountains and over a deep ravine that led to the ruins of the island's Guardian Deity's resting place. Who on earth would be walking down the Mahalo Trail during the festival? And why would anybody be crying for help in the ruins where the Guardian Deity of all Pokémon slept?

Ray turned around to face the stage again. He was sure that nobody would _ever _venture into the Mahalo Trail alone and figured that they were already being helped. Besides, he knew better than to get himself killed on the Mahalo Trail on his first day of freedom.

"Someone help, please!"

He looked around and saw that clearly nobody else heard the cries for help. All of the villagers were still deeply engrossed in their conversations. Ray was probably the only person at the entire festival who could hear the cries for help.

_Every Pokémon trainer has a duty to save people who need help right? _Ray thought to himself. Groaning loudly, he turned around again and bolted straight into the cave that led to Mahalo Trail.

Whoever was calling for help better have had a good reason for delaying his long-awaited meeting with Professor Kukui.

* * *

Hau and Ailey had finally made it to Iki Town in time for the festival, panting loudly as they ascended the steps into town. On the way there, they put their Pokémon back in their Poké Balls so they could get a little bit of rest before the battle. They could already hear loud music booming and a large crowd of people gathered, waiting for them.

"I never knew Iki Town had all these people!" Ailey exclaimed in shock. To her, Iki Town had looked nothing more than a small village dedicated to worshipping the Island's Guardian Deity.

"Most of these people aren't actually from here," Hau explained, walking slightly ahead of her and into the crowd. "They come from all over the island to see who the new trainers going on their _island challenge_ are. Little do they know it's us!"

_island challenge? _Ailey thought. She tried to remember where she heard it, but her memory was blanking. _Wait, didn't Professor Kukui mention that yesterday?_

_"Tomorrow evening. Every new Pokémon has to battle it out in front of the Guardian Deity for their approval, so we've scheduled a festival for the both of you tomorrow. When it's time, you'll battle it out against each other and hopefully we'll hear Tapu Koko give you the all clear to begin your island challenge."_

Ailey suddenly remembered the words Professor Kukui told her and Hau when they had their first battle. The festival would be to commemorate the beginning of their island challenge!

"What exactly is the island challenge?" Ailey asked Hau as they sifted their way through the crowd of people. "Professor Kukui told us about it, right?"

"I'm not really one for explanations," Hau grinned. "I'll let the professor fill you in on the details when we finish our battle."

What could the "island challenge" possibly be? It sounded daunting, but the thought of embarking on some sort of dangerous journey just made Ailey a lot more excited. Was it some sort of journey through the Alolan islands? Either way, she couldn't wait to hear from Professor Kukui what exactly she would be doing.

"Hey, kids!" The duo heard a familiar voice call them from a distance. "You made it in time!"

"Professor!" Hau responded and ran towards Professor Kukui, who was standing at the edge of Iki Town's central battlefield. "We're ready to go for our battle!"

"Well then, what are you too waiting for! Let's get this party started, yeah!" Kukui pumped his fist in excitement. "Take center stage and I'll introduce you to all the folk."

Ailey and Hau nodded and walked onto the stage, a small wooden platform raised high enough for everybody standing to see. It was marked with white tribal scriptures that Ailey could only assume had something to do with the island's Guardian Deity. The entire crowd quieted down as the people fixated their gazes on the two teenagers.

Ailey had always been a _part _of large crowds, but she'd never been the _center_ of attention quite like this! It was nerve-wracking, to say the least.

"People of Melemele Island!" Kukui's deep, booming voice echoed through the town as he stood in front of the crowd. "ʻO ka manawa kēia!"

"What's was that last thing he said?" Ailey whispered across the stage to Hau.

"He's saying it's time for the battle to begin." Hau whispered back. "Just stand tall, smile, and wave."

"Today, we offer our great Guardian Deity, Tapu Koko, a battle!" Kukui continued his announcement. "The battlers will both use an equal amount of their Pokémon partners, and the last trainer with their Pokémon standing will be declared the winner. Any switch will be considered as a defeat of the Pokémon. With its blessings, we will see it that these two new trainers embark on their island challenge! Kahuna Hala will now say his piece and we'll let the battle begin, woo!"

When he finished his statement, Ailey saw an older, larger man make his way through the crowd towards Kukui. He was definitely _dressed_ like a villager of Iki Town with a large yellow flowery cloak, his deep blue t-shirt and white martial arts belt concealed underneath. Despite his full grey hair and beard, Ailey could tell he had the same face as Hau.

_That's right! Kahuna Hala is Hau's grandpa!_ Ailey remembered Kukui and Hau mention that Melemele's leader was none other than Hau's grandfather. _It's only fitting that he makes a statement._

"We will all bear witness to a passionate Pokémon battle between two trainers's chosen by our very own Professor Kukui," Kahuna Hala announced loudly. "They have been entrusted with powerful Pokémon from the professor. On one side we have grandson of the kahuna, Hau Alaka'i!" The crowd erupted into cheers. "On the other side, we have the newcomer from the Kanto region, Ailey Selene!" The crowd once again erupted into loud cheers.

Kukui nodded to Kahuna Hala, who nodded back at him.

"Let the battle begin!" They announced together. "I kēia manawa!"

The pair turned towards each other and each pulled a Poké Ball from their trainer belts. Hau threw his Poké Ball out first and his Pikipek burst out and fluttered in the air, much to the delight of the audience. Ailey smirked and sent her Poké Ball flying as well, her newly-caught Grubbin taking form in front of her.

"Per our rules, you get the first move," Hau announced loudly enough for the audience to hear. "I await your choice."

_Oh right, this is supposed to be a spectacle for the crowd... _Ailey remembered before she could respond back to Hau. _I've got to keep my cool and act formal._

"Thank you, Hau," Ailey replied loudly.

_Wait... _she thought. _I don't know what moves Buzz can use!_

"Uhh..." Ailey stammered. "Buzz, use Tackle!"

Her Grubbin stood confused in front of her. It clearly didn't know how to use Tackle. The crowd murmured in disapproval.

_This is awkward._

"Very well," Hau responded. "Pikipek, use Peck!"

Hau's Pikipek wasted no time as it dove towards Grubbin.

"Buzz, dodge!"

Grubbin scurried out of Pikipek's way, but the small bird Pokémon was too fast for it. It landed directly on Buzz and drove its beak straight into Buzz's head. The Grubbin recoiled in pain. She forgot that she hadn't healed Buzz after its capture, so it was still shaken up from its battle with her Litten.

She also forgot that Bug-types were at a disadvantage against Flying-types like Pikipek, but it was too late for her to fix her mistake.

"Buzz, no!" Ailey shouted. She didn't really have much of a strategy for her first _real _battle, but she needed to think of something small that could at _least _catch Hau off guard. _I need to think of moves that a Bug-type can use. _"Buzz, use String Shot!"

This time, her Pokémon appeared to understand and fired white threads at Pikipek. Hau didn't tell Pikipek to dodge in time and Buzz managed to tangle its feet and bring it to the ground. Ailey's blood was pumping at the rush she got from the battle. She was only beginning to glimpse at what her Pokémon were capable of.

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Ailey cheered. "Try and see if you can get it with a Vicegrip!"

Grubbin nodded again, releasing String Shot's threads from its mouth. It launched straight into the now-grounded Pikipek and slashed it with its mandibles. Pikipek cawed out in pain, but still managed to hold strong.

_It wasn't enough._ Ailey thought. "Get it with another Vicegrip!"

"Pikipek, shake it off with Growl!" Hau commanded.

Before Buzz could pounce on Pikipek again, Pikipek managed to let out an intimidating screech. Instead of going through with its attack, Buzz just stood there shaken up in fear.

_Ugh, it can use Growl!_

"Buzz, don't let it get to you!" Ailey reassured her Pokémon. She had really wished she could spend at least a _few _minutes before the festival getting acquainted with her new Grubbin. "Keep at it!"

Buzz nodded and clamped its mandibles at Pikipek again.

"No!" Hau cried out. "Pikipek, use Peck on Buzz's threads! Free yourself!"

Instead of attacking Buzz, Pikipek pecked away at the remnant's of Buzz's String Shot attack. After successfully freeing itself, it fluttered in the air again.

"Good work!" Hau cheered. "Now, use Peck! Don't let it get away!"

"No!" Ailey shouted. "Buzz, dodge!"

The Grubbin tried scurrying away from Hau's Pikipek, but its wounds from its capture were still strong. Pikipek managed to dive into Buzz with little effort and dug its beak straight in between its mandibles.

"Buzz!"

Her Pokémon flew in front of her and lay on the ground with slow breaths. Ailey knew that she had to call her Grubbin back, but as Kukui stated earlier, it meant that Buzz would unable to be recalled later in the battle. Ailey's heart sank as she recalled Buzz into its Poké Ball and clipped it back to her belt.

One down, but another one to go. She could still win this.

"Hau Alaka'i has managed to knock out the first of Ailey Selene's Pokémon!" Kukui announced loudly as the crowd erupted into cheers. "Hau is now at the advantage!"

"Not for long..." Ailey muttered to herself and unclipped Singe's Poké Ball from her belt. "Go, Singe!"

She threw Litten's Poké Ball in the air and it burst open in front of her. The rush she felt from battling with Buzz double as she now got the opportunity to show off what her starter Pokémon could do.

"Mrowr!" Litten purred loudly and was met with loud cheers from the audience.

Luckily for her, Singe didn't take any damage from capturing Grubbin. At most, it might have been very slightly fatigued from using Ember, but it had no wounds or anything else that might hinder it in battle.

"Singe, shoot an Ember attack into the air!" Ailey commanded, pointing towards Hau's Pikipek. "Let's knock that thing to ground!"

"Dodge, Pikipek!"

Singe purred loudly and spat out small fireballs into the sky. Pikipek fluttered around in an attempt to dodge Singe's attack, but it was eventually hit head on and took on the full brunt of Ember.

"Caw!" Pikipek screeched and plummeted to the ground. It attempted to stand up slowly, but the heat from Ember had already done its damage.

"We burned it!" Ailey cheered. Pikipek probably didn't have much energy left, now it was time for her to land the finishing blow. "Now let's finish the job. Singe, Scratch!"

"Get away, Pikipek!"

Singe leaped onto the grounded Pikipek and hacked at it with its vicious claws. Pikipek screeched in an attempt to get away, but it was in too much pain to shake the Litten off, just as Ailey had expected. Singe hopped off once it had done enough damage and Pikipek lay on the ground in front of it, out of energy.

"And Hau's Pikipek has fallen! The battle is tied once again!" Kukui announced loudly, met with loud cheers as always.

"You managed to wound Pikipek pretty badly with Buzz..." Hau sighed with a sad frown. "Singe just managed to put on the finishing touch."

"I figured Pikipek wouldn't be able to last after Buzz caught it off-guard with String Shot," Ailey smirked.

"Don't get too happy now, we're not done here!" Hau exclaimed. "Let's finish this off, Rowlet!"

Hau launched Rowlet's Poké Ball towards the stage and his starter Pokémon took form in front of Singe, fluttering down to the ground in a combat stance. Rowlet and Singe eyed each other cautiously, two of Kukui's starter Pokémon that were now going against each other in battle for the second time.

"Remember what happened last time Singe battled Rowlet?" Ailey asked with a smirk. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of her already having a one-match advantage on Hau, her Litten easily disposing of his Rowlet the day before.

"Didn't end so well for me," Hau reflected Ailey's smirk. "But this time it's different, we're prepared now!"

"Then show me what you got. I'll give you the first move."

"That's kind of you," Hau playfully teased her. Ailey could notice a small hint of planning in his eyes, and she cautiously awaited his attack. "Let's catch them off guard with Leafage! Then get it with a Tackle before it can recover!"

_Hau's trying to distract my Pokémon! He wants to blind Litten with Leafage and then pummel it with Tackle!_

"Counter it with Ember!"

Rowlet flapped its wings towards Singe and a storm of small leaves bombarded it. Before any of them could land on Singe, it spat out an Ember attack at the leaves. If Ailey could get Singe to burn all the leaves in time, its field of vision would be good enough to shrug off Rowlet's Tackle attack. But that was only a hope, she hadn't trained Singe on accuracy yet.

"Come on, incinerate those leaves Singe!"

Singe tried his best to burn through all of the leaves, but the ratio of leaves to fireballs was just too high for him. As soon as it ran out of energy to continue using Ember, Rowlet emerged from the storm of leaves and slammed directly into Singe, sending it flying towards the ground.

"Singe, no!" Ailey cried out. "Get back up! We're not done yet!"

"Rowlet was pretty wounded from our battle with Pikipek," Hau announced. "But he's still got some gas left in him! Get it with another Leafage/Tackle combo!"

"Don't let Rowlet strike you again, Singe! Put all your power into Ember!" Ailey pleaded her Pokémon, who was visibly struggling with pain.

Rowlet hooted and repeated the same attacks that threw Singe off the first time. The Litten was better prepared this time, but it couldn't muster all of its energy into using Ember. Its pain levels were too high and it fired off the weakest Ember attack Ailey had seen.

"Rowlet, it's weak!" Hau shouted out. "Now's your chance to finish this!"

The Grass-type Pokémon nodded and launched at Singe, who was being bombarbed with its Leafage attack. It managed to put all of its body weight into the attack and sent Singe flying off towards Ailey.

"Singe, no!"

Ailey's breath froze as she hoped and prayed for Litten to stand up. She breathed a sigh of relief when it very slowly began to get up, but one of its back legs gave out and it tumbled back to the ground, unable to continue battling.

"Aww..." Ailey sighed deeply, small sweat droplets rolling down her forehead. Hau definitely trained his Rowlet before he arrived at her house, and she could tell Singe wasn't quite on its level anymore. She took a minute to come to her senses before recalling Singe back to its Poké Ball and clipping it to her belt. "You did great, Singe..."

Although she was defeated pretty easily, she couldn't help but feel proud of her Pokémon. Even though Singe only knew her for a day and Buzz for not more than an hour, they still put everything on the line for her. She couldn't be upset about that.

_You guys are the best._

"We did it!" Hau cheered loudly, and the crowd roared with applause.

Suddenly, there was a booming cry that echoed through the entire village. Ailey looked to the sky in a panicked confusion, but the entire crowd cheered even louder at its sound and Ailey figured it was just part of the festival.

"And that does it!" Kukui announced loudly, although his voice was mostly droned out by the loud crowd. "Hau Alaka'i has managed to defeat Ailey Selene to win the Iki Town festival, woo! And you all just heard our Guardian Deity's cry of approval! Let's hear it for our kahuna's own grandson, Hau!"

_That was the Guardian Deity?_ Ailey thought. She proudly approached Hau and his Rowlet, who were happily waving to the crowd of festival-goers. "Congratulations, Hau! That was an awesome battle. I think I'm still coming down from that rush."

"You too, Ailey," Hau grinned and held out his hand for her to shake. "I can't help but think I got lucky with Pikipek's type advantage against Buzz."

Ailey returned the handshake with a smile. "That's all a part of battle right? You can't go into every fight having an advantage. You've gotta play to your disadvantages, just like _you_ did with your Rowlet."

After addressing the crowd, the duo could see Proessor Kukui make his way towards them with two necklaces in his hand. He handed them to Hau and Ailey with the brightest smile on his face.

"I knew I chose some awesome trainers, woo! I couldn't be more proud to hand these island challenge Amulets to Alola's newest Pokémon trainers." Kukui stuck his hands out and held an amulet in each one. "With these, you're granted access to all of the trail sites scattered around every corner of Alola. There, you'll battle super tough Pokémon and collect Z-Crystals as proof of your victories."

"Z-Crystals?" Ailey asked.

"They're basically the proof that you completed a trial," Hau answered her with a shrug. "If you can collect each island's required amount of Z-Crystals, you'll be able to challenge the island's kahuna in a battle called the Grand Trial."

"You've done your research, cousin! Right on!" Kukui patted the boy's shoulder. He looked towards Ailey to continue Hau's explanation. "Once you complete all four Grand Trials here in Alola, you have to face off against every island kahuna again. This time, if you manage to defeat them, you'll become an 'island challenge Champion'. Sounds pretty awesome, yeah?"

Ailey forced a smile. As cool as taking on the island challenge sounded, she still wanted to be able to begin her research on each Pokémon's power. Going around and battling all these trainers would only be a distraction. She was always headstrong and willing to tackle on any challenge that got in her way, but she also needed to be headstrong towards her aspirations as well. The island challenge would have been _perfect _once she found the answers she wanted and finished her research, but she couldn't just deny the professor who gave her a starter Pokémon within a week of her move, especially in front of all of the Alolan people. It would have been spitting in the face of their traditions.

She glanced towards Hau and could see the sheer excitement on his face, so she would _also_ be a bad friend by declining Kukui's offer. She sighed and gently took the amulet from the professor's hand.

"...I can't wait!" She lied, managing to mask her reservations well. _I can wait._

"Awesome!" Kukui nodded. "Hey, why don't you two meet up at the town hall once the festival ends? I've got something else for you two." The professor grinned as both trainers took their amulets and agreed to his request. He turned around to address the crowd again. "Melemele Island, say hello to your two newest island challengers! Woo!"

* * *

_Meanwhile, as Ailey and Hau were just beginning their battle_

Ray carefully made his way up the steep hills of Mahalo Trail as the sun began to set on the horizon, darkening the skies. His family devotedly worshipped Melemele's Guardian Deity, but he had never actually been to the Mahalo Trail. It was a harsh, winding path carved through the mountains of Melemele. Fortunately for him, there was a narrow dirt road carved up the hills for him to follow.

"Who the hell could be here alone?" Ray asked himself, his breaths deep with fatigue as he continued his ascent.

He didn't like coming all the way to Mahalo Trial by himself for his first time in the area. Even though the green hills, lush foliage, and tribal woodwork looked pristine, there was something foreboding about it. It was _too _peaceful; no Pokémon in sight, no wind, and besides the sounds of the loud festival behind him, the only thing he could hear was the echo of a river.

It was absolutely ridiculous to think that someone made it all the way up Mahalo Trail by themselves. And that _nobody _else at the festival could hear them. Was Ray seriously hearing things? Because he couldn't hear anyone crying out for help anymore. Especially since he had made it deep into the Mahalo Trail, there was no way anybody this far could have been heard all the way at Iki Town.

"Hello!" Ray shouted loudly cupping his mouth, hoping his voice would echo through the hills and trigger a response. When he didn't receive one, a chill ran down his spine. "Hello?" he shouted again, this time with pinch of fear in his voice.

_Is there seriously no one here? I've gotta be careful now..._

"Fafnir, come on out!" Ray exclaimed and threw out Bagon's Poké Ball from his trainer belt. If anything were to happen to him in an area unknown to him, he would need the protection of his only Pokémon. There was a small explosion of light where the ball struck and the Bagon took for in front of Ray, its light blue coloration matching Ray's clothes.

"Grr..." Fafnir growled quietly.

"Okay, keep your ears peeled out for any voices you hear..." Ray muttered quietly. "This could be a trap."

Ray and Fafnir slowly made their way up the darkened path. The trail would have normally been a relaxing trip had the circumstances not been so bizarre (and had it been daytime instead), so Ray made a note to come back for meditation in the future. As he and his Pokémon made their way up the path, they both looked around to the sides to see if they could spot anyone. The sound of the flowing river got exponentially louder the farther they made it up the path, but there was still no sign of any person anywhere.

Then, he heard it.

"Shh..." Ray held a finger to his lips, prompting Fafnir to start walking more quietly. "Do you hear that?"

Fafnir nodded slowly. His Pokémon could hear it too.

It was masked by the roaring sound of the river, but Ray was _certain _he heard someone sobbing. In the distance, he could make out a narrow wooden bridge that was suspended high over the trail's ravine. He squinted his eyes and carefully saw a the figure of a person ahead of him.

Just in front of the bridge was what looked to be a girl his age kneeled on the ground.

"Ma'am!" Ray shouted out and sprinted over to her, Fafnir waddling as fast as it could behind him. He couldn't believe it, he actually _wasn't _hallucinating the cries for help. There was actually another person there in distress.

The girl didn't initially turn around to face him. Did she not hear him? Ray wished he could at least see her face to see if he knew her, but her light blonde hair, large white hat, ballet shoes, knee-high formal socks, and pearly white dress looked absolutely nothing like the attire of a normal Alolan resident. She had to have been a stranded tourist!

"Ma'am, are you okay?" Ray muttered, crouching next to her.

"Ah?" the girl sighed. She initially recoiled in surprise, but she finally turned her head to face Ray. Her shining emerald green eyes pierced straight into his chocolate brown ones.

"Is something the matter? You called out for help earlier, right?" Ray asked. When he finally got a close look at her, he was right, her skin was far too pale to be a local. She was a helpless tourist.

"H-help..." she muttered in between her sobs before pointing towards the bridge. "Save... Nebby..."

On the middle of the bridge, Ray could see that there was a small ethereal-looking blob huddled on the ground. Was that a Pokémon? He'd never seen anything like it before. And surrounding it was a flock of Spearow trying to dive at it. That was her Pokémon and it was in trouble! If Ray wanted to become a true Pokémon trainer, this would have to be the first mission for him.

"D-don't worry missy!" Ray blurted out and stood up straight. "I'll help your Pokémon!"

He ran towards the bridge with his trusty Bagon at his side. It didn't look like any of the Spearow paid any attention to him, they were too focused on the strange-looking Pokémon (soon to be their dinner) beneath them.

Ray had never actually battled with his Bagon before, despite it being his only Pokémon. With strict parents that never let him raise Pokémon within their knowledge, he didn't have many opportunities to go and train with it. Instead, he only ever let Bagon out of its Poké Ball during his daily meditation sessions and at night when his parents fell asleep. He had seen it use moves like Ember, Rage, and Bite in the wild before he convinced it to join him, but he had never actually given it commands himself.

"Fafnir, use Ember! Knock those pesky Spearow away!" Ray shouted to his Pokémon. _Wait, shit, the bridge is made of wood. Ember might burn set it on fire! _"Fafnir, aim your Ember towards the sky! Don't let the flames hit the bridge!"

His Bagon nodded and launched out a storm of mini-fireballs as high as it could. Fafnir's attack managed to pepper the flock of Spearow and they finally shifted their gazes towards Ray. Their eyes lit up in anger.

"That's right... Spearow aren't the friendliest Pokémon..." Ray scratched his head and gulped. He was in big _big _trouble now. One Spearow broke off from its flock and flew straight to Ray. "Fafnir, use Rage!"

Fafnir leaped in the way of the Spearow and its trainer, taking the full force of Spearow's hit. Hearing Ray's command to use Rage, Fafnir landed on the ground and began to glow red, anger boiling through its small body. It growled ferociously as the Spearow's hit only powered it up further.

"That's what I like to see, Fafnir!" Ray cheered. _Shit, this little guy can really take a hit! _"Burn it out of the sky with Ember again!"

Fafnir growled angrily and hurled a flurry of fireballs at the Spearow that dared to attack its trainer. This time, through its Rage attack, Ember's fireballs grew significantly in size. They sprayed harshly into the Spearow and it cawed in frustration. Realizing that Ray and his Bagon were too strong for it, it flew back to its flock and continued to harass the blonde girl's Pokémon.

"You can't do that!" Ray shouted to the Spearow and finally ran onto the bridge. "Whoa!"

The bridge swayed violently as Ray stepped onto it. It was way too narrow and clearly in disrepair. How could anybody leave the Guardian Deity's bridge in such a terrible state? He slowed his pace down and recalled Fafnir into its Poké Ball, clipping it to his belt. The last thing he wanted to do was tip the weight of the bridge.

"What the hell..." he muttered to himself as he made the mistake of looking down beneath him. The ravine looked like it went down for forever, and the rapid river at its bottom looked like it could sweep him into the ocean with no effort. If he made the wrong move, both him and the girl's Pokémon would fall to their deaths and _nobody _would find them.

His head began to rush at the terrifying sight below him. He had never actually experienced a height quite like this, and he now understood why the girl was crying out for help.

_I guess this is what they call a fear of heights... holy hell._

Ray inched closer and closer to the troubled Pokémon and realized the Spearow failed to notice him again. Had he been quiet enough? Or had they just paid no attention to him? Once he was comfortable with the distance the Spearow gave the strange ethereal Pokémon, he leaped and huddled over it, his mind frozen with fear.

_One sudden move and this bridge is gonna fall apart._

"You're safe with me, buddy..." Ray whispered to the small Pokémon who was shivering. Up close he could see it was patterned with dark hues of outer space, its stubby arms littered with mini stars. What a peculiar Pokémon! He looked up to see if any of the Spearow were going to make a move, but he seemed safe for the moment. He adjusted his red bucket hat safely over his head in case any of the Spearow thought that his brains would make a delicious meal. His heart was still thumping out of fear, but he was too far in to turn back now.

Carefully, Ray looked up to see if any of the Spearow thought about making a move on the Pokémon. They were still eyeing it carefully as they flew in circles, but Ray seemed to be too big of a meat shield for them to want to penetrate. Ray glanced back down at the Pokémon he was protecting and then almost gasped when he saw it glowing brightly.

"W-what are you doing!?" Ray asked loudly.

_BANG!_

In an instant, Ray lost feeling of the bridge beneath him. He was still completely dazed from the Pokémon's flash, but he held it tightly in his arms as he realized he was falling deep into the ravine, likely to his death. Everything went numb; no sights, no sounds, no thoughts. His body felt like it was in shock at the sudden fall, and his eyes were closed shut. If it was going to end this way, it would have to be peaceful.

_Zoom!_

Suddenly, there was a different sensation in Ray's body. For some reason, it didn't feel like he was falling anymore. In fact, when he finally managed to open his eyes and look down, the river was getting farther and farther away from him. He felt like something was physically lifting him into the air. What was going on? Was he ascending?

Before he could do anything, he felt himself crash violently into the ground.

"What... what happened?" Ray groaned in pain, lying face down on the ground. He was in so much pain that lying on the warm dirt felt relaxing.

"Are you okay?" a soft voice asked, although Ray could barely hear it through the ringing in his ears. "That was... really brave of you."

"Ughh..." Ray stood up with a great effort and scratched his head. He gave himself time for his vision to unblur before inspecting himself. He was covered in scrapes and cuts, but was otherwise relatively unharmed. Even his Fafnir's Poké Ball was still safely clipped to his trainer belt. He remembered falling quite clearly... how did he make it back to land? He noticed the blonde girl was in front of him and was smiling brightly, her small ethereal Pokémon happily floating around by her side.

In the distance, he could see the bridge was gone, completely torn off of its posts on the sides of the ravine. The three Spearow were gone too, and Ray figured they thought chasing him into the river wasn't worth the risk of being swept away.

_What the hell just happened?_

"I... I saved it? But I thought I was falling?"

"I almost fainted when I saw you fall..." the girl frowned and looked away from him, her eyes filled with regret. "I'm sorry, my Pokémon is so helpless and I don't know how to protect it... if you didn't make it out then it would have been all my fault. I can't believe I put someone else in danger like that..."

"Don't worry about it..." Ray panted, his mind still spinning rapidly. He had no idea how he could have possibly have made it back to high ground after falling deep into the ravine. Did the Pokémon he saved do something? He remembered it glowing brightly before the bridge broke. "What... happened?"

"Nebby used its power to try and escape with you from the bridge, but that's not what saved you..." the girl answered softly, looking down at the ground. Ray could tell she felt too much guilt about the situation she put him in to look him in the eyes.

"It's power...?" Ray asked, still trying to piece together what had happened.

"Whenever Nebby feels stressed, it likes to use teleport away. I don't know how it learned the power, but it has saved us both from some scary situations in the past. I think that's what it did right now."

"Okay, but that still doesn't answer my question," Ray stated, slightly annoyed that the girl _still _wouldn't explain how he didn't fall into the river. To be fair though, there were a _lot _of questions he needed answered. And it seemed like the girl was just as caught off guard as he was. "If your Nebby's power didn't save me, then what did?"

The girl finally looked up, but her gaze still didn't meet his eyes. Instead, she looked to the sky and pointed upwards, her emerald eyes now wide open. "That saved you."

"...that?" Ray turned looked up in confusion and almost had a heart attack when he spotted the glowing figure in the sky.

It screeched loudly, firing off bolts of lightning in every direction. Glaring at Ray with a pair of glowing golden eyes, it dropped an object from its height. Without wasting another second, blasted off down the trail in a blur, leaving a trail of sizzling electricity in its wake.

Ray had lived on Melemele Island all his life. He knew the customs and the traditions like the palm of his hand. Never once in his life did he expect to witness _that_. His body was numb with shock. The figure he saw in the sky was unmistakable.

It was Tapu Koko. _Melemele's __Guardian Deity_.

* * *

_**A/N:**_ _Sorry to throw a long chapter out at you right from the start, and one jumbled between two adventures at that! Most of the chapters from here on out will be of similar length, but they'll be more cohesive as all four travelers start to go on similar paths. This one took some time to write because Alola is just so rich and full of tradition that it's hard to fully capture that in words, but I tried my best. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it!_

_Remember to leave a review or send me a PM with any feedback or criticism you have (seriously, criticism is very much appreciated, it helps me go back and spot things in my chapters that I could have explained better) :)_


	4. 3: Companionship

**_A/N:_**_ Just a small tidbit, but it's come to my attention that my line breaks aren't showing up for some readers and it makes it hard to tell where one scene ends and another begins. I apologize if they never showed up for you because it looks totally unprofessional on my part! I went back and made sure they appeared, so hopefully they're fixed now! Please do let me know if they still don't show up for any of you, I'll try my best to see what's keeping them from appearing._

_Also, please **do not under any circumstance leave a review for the sake of counter-reviewing somebody you don't like **(so far this only goes for one person, you know who you are). I would honestly rather see a super negative review full of hate than a counter review, because at least someone who leaves a negative review took the time to read my story and give me feedback. A counter-review does nothing for me or my story, looks totally immature, and is just absolutely annoying to see as an author (seriously, I get so excited to see a new review and then that excitement goes away when I see that your review has absolutely nothing to do with my story and instead with another user reviewing my story). Cut it out. If you leave a counter-review on my story, **you will be blocked**. I've already stated not to do this multiple times in the past, I'm done giving warnings._

_Anyways, hope you're all just as excited as I am for the new __Pokémon __titles, Sword and Shield! What's **your **favorite starter?_

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _****_Pokémon nor do I own any of their characters. This is merely a fan story written using the template Game Freak has provided with Pokémon._**

**_Rated T for: Mild adult language, violence, and drug usage_**

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

**COMPANIONSHIP**

The light breeze that snaked through the palm trees of Mahalo Trail was soothing. The last of Tapu Koko's lightning contrails faded and the dark night sky took over Melemele Island in a pitch black panorama, freckled by the illumination of millions of stars.

Ray sat on the ground clutching his knees with a wide grin drawn on his face. His heart wouldn't stop beating at a million-miles-an-hour. His breathing was deep and heavy, still trying to catch up with his mind. Nervous sweat finally stopped dripping from his forehead.

There was no doubt in his head that he had just been saved from his untimely death by Tapu Koko, the island's Guardian Deity. But Tapu Koko was rarely ever seen by most people, even its most devoted worshippers. Why would it come to save _him _of all people?

"What in the world..." Ray muttered in awe, his body slowly beginning to reach harmony again.

Tapu Koko was the most revered Pokémon on all of Melemele. Even though it had been worshipped since the ancient times, nobody knew what caused it to appear in front of people. Ray had been told by some people that it only appeared in front of trainers destined to be heroes, but he had also been told by others that it showed itself to trainers as a warning that it was keeping watch on their mischievous acts.

Either way, Ray was _certain _he had just seen Tapu Koko.

"Was that... the Guardian Deity?" the dressed-up blonde girl he helped asked when the two came to their senses. "That was the Pokémon that saved you. I have seen illustrations of it in the books I read."

Ray ignored her and continued to sit on the ground, taking deep breaths to calm himself. The warm Alolan breeze coupled with the light rustling of palm trees and roaring river gave him the sanctity of a clear head to fully process his thoughts. His short encounter with Tapu Koko was either an auspicious moment or a dark omen to begin his journey with, but there was no way for him to know for sure.

"That was incredible." Ray breathed deeply, still ignoring the girl. There was no way he would be able to come down from the rush he was having. "If only my parents were here to see this."

"Um..." the girl said softly. Ray turned his head and noticed that she was gazing at him, her guilt from earlier seemed to have subsided a little. Although she still seemed a little reserved. "Thank you so much... for saving Nebby. I wish I could give you something to show my thanks but... I do not have anything..."

"Oh, no no no! Don't worry about it!" Ray assured her with a grin. Nebby, the strange-looking Pokémon by her side, seemed to be happy about his help as well. "After all I'm a Pokémon trainer, that's what we do!"

Being able to refer to himself as an actual _Pokémon trainer_ for the first time felt surreal, but Ray could definitely get used to that.

"I... um... I am Lillie," the girl introduced herself with a smile. There was a bit of reservation to her introduction, but Ray figured it just had to do with meeting a new person. "I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, it was quite rude of me."

"I'm Ray," he stood up and introduced himself back. To him, Lillie seemed to have some sort of formality to the way she spoke, like the dialect of someone who grew up incredibly rich. And the way she dressed seemed to confirm that.

Lillie stuck out her hand and in her palm was a sparkling stone. "The Guardian Deity dropped this before it flew off. I think it is for you."

"What's this?" Ray asked and took the stone from her hand. He lightly ran his hands over it. Though the darkness of night made it hard to see, Ray could tell the stone was almost completely grey, with the center bearing a colored inscription unlike anything he had ever seen.

"I cannot say that I know what it is..." Lillie frowned. "But the Guardian Deity dropped this itself. It can only be for you."

"Well thanks..." Ray shrugged and carefully placed it in his backpack. The least he could do was keep it with him as a thanks to the Guardian Deity that saved him.

"We should... probably get back to the festival," Lillie told him. "It is getting late and I do not want my mentor to get upset."

"Iki Town... festival... right..." Ray stammered. He completely forgot that he was missing the festival!

"And... one more thing..." Lillie stopped him just before he was about to head back down the path to Iki Town. She opened up a large duffel bag she was carrying and to Ray's surprise Nebby happily hopped into it without any sort of resistance. "Please... do not tell anyone about this... about seeing Nebby... it... it is a secret, okay?"

"Uhh... okay..." Ray nodded slowly. _That's weird... she just stuffed her __Pokémon into a duffel bag like that? And w__hy does she want to keep a weak Pokémon like that a secret?_

"Um..." Lillie continued awkwardly. "I am worried we might get attacked by a wild Pokémon or something. I know it is too much for me to ask it, but... do you think you could see us back to town?"

"Yeah, sure." Ray agreed with a blank stare. He will still completely taken aback by the fact that he had just seen her stuff her Pokémon in her bag. Not a Poké Ball or anything, but a full-on _duffel bag_.

He turned around to face the direction of town and continued to slowly trek down the hill. He could hear Lillie following him, but he didn't dare turn around to face her. There was just something about her perfect formality that gave him the creeps.

* * *

Ray and Lillie finally managed to completely the downhill trek out of the scenic Mahalo Trail and back towards Iki Town. Even though the darkness of night had completely enveloped Melemele Island, the lit tiki torches to the side of the path gave them the brightness they needed to walk at night.

There was no conversation between the two along the way, something about Lillie just made Ray feel uncomfortable. Nor did she give him the warm feeling that he usually got when he made a new friend. Instead he felt more like a bodyguard to her. He didn't have any _contempt _towards her, but something about her just made him feel like he should be a little more cautious.

As they got closer to the town, something wasn't right. It didn't seem the same as before...

"The music stopped! And the lights are all gone! And I don't hear any voices!" Ray exclaimed and began to run down the hill. "Oh no, the festival ended!"

Just as he thought, there was nobody in town and every home light was on. The residents all looked like they ended the festival and were relaxing at home.

"We... we missed the festival!" Ray cried out. He fell to his knees in frustration, annoyed that Lillie's troubles caused him to miss seeing Professor Kukui. "I can't believe I missed the festival. Now I'll never be able to talk to Professor Kukui..."

"P-professor Kukui?" Lillie asked softly, finally speaking her first words since she left Mahalo Trail with Ray. She stopped beside him and looked down. "You would like to see Professor Kukui?"

Ray looked up to her with a sudden gleam of hope in his eyes. "You know Professor Kukui?"

"Why yes!" Lillie chirped. There was a newfound relief in her eyes. "He is my mentor! I can take you to his house if you would like. I am sure he would love to thank you for assisting me, he is probably worried about my absence."

_Assisting you?_ Ray thought bitterly. It usually took a lot of effort to get Ray angry, but Lillie was gradually starting to get to him. _What happened on that bridge was a hell of a lot more than "assistance"..._

"That would be cool," Ray stated monotonously and stood up, wiping some dirt off of his shorts and knees. Despite his slight distaste for Lillie, she was currently his only link to the professor. He would take any chance he got. "He lives down by the beach, right?"

"Yes!"

"Okay then," Ray muttered with a smile. "Let's head over there."

_She's taking me to the professor... maybe I can at least not be a complete asshat to her?_

* * *

"That was a _fantastic_ battle you two had! I could almost sense your energy, your ike."

Ailey nodded at Kahuna Hala who was sitting across the table from her as she scarfed down her plate of traditional Alolan vegetables. Ordinarily she would have responded instantly, but she knew better than to talk with her mouth full in the company of people. Instead, she happily filled her stomach that was empty from the battle as she listened to the Kahuna rave about her battle with Hau. Ailey still felt the adrenaline rush from the battle, but the delicious Alolan food was managing to calm her down.

After the battle, Kahuna Hala invited the teenagers to the Town Hall to celebrate the start of their Island Challenges with some Alolan food. Additionally, Kukui mentioned afterwards that he had a surprise for them, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Yeah, Ailey's got some amazing battle spirit," Hau replied to his grandfather after he gulped down some of his rice. "I think she might even be better than me, and I've lived on Melemele my entire life!"

Even though Ailey was still happily stuffing her face with food, she managed to force a big smile. It was nice to get compliments from total strangers about her battling style, especially since she was so unfamiliar with the capabilities of her Litten and Grubbin, Singe and Buzz. She glanced down towards the floor where her two Pokémon here hungrily chowing on bowls of PokéFood with Hau's Rowlet and Pikipek.

"Thanks guys," Ailey smiled happily as she finished the last speck of food left on her plate. "Hau had me at the end there. I should have taken some time to think over strategies before."

"Sometimes they just come to a natural prodigy like me, you know?" Hau boasted jokingly with a wide grin on his face.

"Yeah?" Ailey groaned at him in sarcastic annoyance. "Is that why I got the win when we battled yesterday?"

"Hey, beginner's luck is a thing," Hau joked again.

Ailey didn't respond and instead stuck her tongue out at Hau, who returned the gesture. Even though she knew he was joking, it still rubbed her the wrong way. There was still a little bit of fire left in her from earlier.

"Okay, settle down there you two," Kahuna Hala laughed heartily. "Besides, you still haven't seen your gifts from Professor Kukui."

"Gifts?" Ailey asked. "Wait... where's the professor? I thought he said he was gonna be here!"

"Unfortunately the professor is currently pulling his teeth out looking for his assistant." Hala shrugged. "That poor girl has a bad habit of wandering off on her own and getting completely lost. I sympathize with her, she has been here for a few months but is still unfamiliar with our sacred islands."

"That Lillie girl, right?" Hau asked with a frown. "There's something up with her. She's really protective of her stupidly large bag. I remember the only time I ever saw her she just broke down crying when I got near her dumb bag. She didn't bother to introduce herself, it was just crying right off the bat. She doesn't even train any Pokémon, what could she need such a big bag for? And why does she have to wear such a ridiculous hat?"

"Hoʻomaha, my grandson. Relax a little," Hala scolded his grandson with an Arbok-like glare. "We did not raise you to be judgmental of people, whether or not they are outsiders. You are an Alaka'i, do not tarnish the name with petty comments."

"I guess..." Hau sighed and crossed his arms, looking away from his grandfather. "Still though, she's not like the other outsiders. There's something sketchy about her, but whatever, that's none of my business."

"Anyways, if you are done being judgmental, I will go get your gifts from the professor." Hala stated to the teenagers.

The Kahuna slowly rose from his seat and walked out of their sight for a minute. Ailey and Hau could hear him fumbling around with some objects in the distance before he gasped and walked back towards the dinner table. In his hands was a red box wrapped with a gold ribbon.

"These devices will give you all the help you need on your Island Challenge." Hala said and placed the box on the table.

"What's in here?" Ailey asked. "What are the 'devices'?"

Instead of answering her, Hala smirked and undid the ribbon from atop the box. Once the ribbon was off, he took the top off of the box and the two curious teenagers peered in. Inside of the box was a pair of red gadgets with large display screens.

"What are these?" Ailey and Hau asked in unison.

"They are called PokéDexes," Hala answered and handed Ailey and Hau each a PokéDex. "They are know-it-all encyclopedias on every Pokémon discovered in Alola _and _they have communication functions like most mobile phones nowadays. You can even keep up with other trainers embarking on their Island Challenges."

"Whoa-ho-ho!" Hau marveled as he powered on his PokéDex. "This is amazing!"

Ailey powered her PokéDex up and looked at it curiously. She had heard of PokéDexes back when she lived in Kanto, but the rare few ones she saw looked like clunky books. This one, on the other hand, was sleek in design with most of its hardware space taken up by the large touchscreen. Besides the red coloration on the device, it looked identical to the "Unown-I Phone" that recently became a hit back in Kanto!

"So besides being an encyclopedia and a phone, what else can it do?" Ailey asked the Kahuna.

"Unfortunately, I don't know much about what else it can do..." Hala sighed. "You're better off asking Professor Kukui about that when you meet with him next."

"Aw..."

"Wait! I almost forgot!" The Kahuna exclaimed. "The PokéDex contains an important Pokémon security feature. You are able to 'register' any Pokémon you captured as your own. That way, only _you _or any other trainer you give permission are able to send them out of their Poké Balls. It makes it impossible for Pokémon thieves to use your Pokémon."

"Whoa!" Ailey and Hau replied in unison.

"How do we register our Pokémon?" Ailey asked.

"I'm not entirely sure..." Hala scratched his snow-colored hair in thought. "But I do remember Professor Kukui using his thumbprint to-"

"Did it!" Hau loudly interrupted his grandfather. "Super easy. Just tap 'register' in the main settings menu, scan your thumbprint, press your thumb on the button in the middle of your Pokémon's Poké Ball, and then scan your thumbprint on the PokéDex again! That was crazy easy, I just registered both Rowlet and Pikipek!"

"Oh wow..." Ailey muttered and found the option in her PokéDex. Following Hau's instructions, she registered Singe's Poké Ball first and then Buzz's right after. "You're right, that was actually pretty easy!"

"Yo Ailey..." Hau muttered and scrolled through his PokéDex. "There's a feature to check what moves your Pokémon know! Now you'll never have to go into battle without knowing what move to use like you did today!"

"What did you just say..." Ailey growled. She knew he was just joking around, but it _still _sent a spark up her spine. "I knew what moves to use, I just panicked."

"Oh come on, just give it a try!"

Ailey sighed and clicked on through her Pokémon's newly registered profiles. "Okay, it says that Buzz knows Vice Grip, String Shot, and Mud Slap. Singe knows Ember, Scratch, Growl, and Lick. Oh wow, that _is _pretty cool!"

"Looks like old Hala isn't much of a help anymore!" Hala interrupted their conversation and laughed heartily. "You kids are way ahead of the curve."

"Like I said, I'm a natural." Hau smirked.

"So now that you've got that settled, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Hala asked the kids.

Ailey didn't answer at first. Now that she thought about it, she didn't actually _have_ a plan for beginning her journey. She knew she was going to get her starter and participate in a festival, but she didn't really think about what would happen after. Yeah she would have to give the Island Challenge a try in order to not piss off the professor and the Kahuna (even though she was still hellbent on researching the inner strengths of a Pokémon), but she had no idea where to even begin.

"Easy," Hau broke her thoughts. Ailey glanced towards him and saw that he had a more confident expression on his face. "We're gonna visit Hau'oli City first and stock up on some supplies. I can even give Ailey the grand tour of the coolest city in Alola. Then I'm going to get some information on where the Trial Captain here is!"

"That works for me, I'm totally clueless," Ailey admitted. She looked down at her two Pokémon, who had now finished their PokéFood and were staring at her intently. "Whaddaya say, guys? Sound like a good plan to you?"

Singe and Buzz responded with smiles and cheers.

"Well Hau, looks like you're gonna be my tour guide tomorrow." Ailey smirked. "Don't try and get us killed on the way there."

Hau shot her his signature grin. "I'll try my best."

* * *

Ray and Lillie continued down a small path away from Iki Town and towards the area where Lillie claimed Professor Kukui's lab was for what seemed to be an hour. It went downhill through some jungles and towards the southern beach of Melemele - or so they hoped. They came across almost no civilization at all and the further they moved down the path, the less confident Lillie appeared to be in navigating there. Ray had never met Professor Kukui once in his life, so he had no idea where to go. To his displeasure, he was forced to rely on Lillie's shaky guidance to get him there.

Along the way, the two of them still made almost no conversation. There was an occasional observation about certain Pokémon or objects they walked past, and Ray had called Fafnir out of its Poké Ball to give them a little more protection through the dark of night, but other than that it was almost a completely silent walk between them. Ray had already predisposed Lillie to be nothing more than a clueless tourist who didn't know anything about living in Alola, so he wasn't too thrilled to be relying on her.

"I... I think we need to turn off the path here..." Lillie instructed him softly.

"You sure about that?" Ray asked skeptically. "Cause we've made too many twists and turns. Are you sure you know where you're going? Or are you just leading me into some sort of trap?"

"I am sorry..." Lillie apologized. "I always get lost... no matter where I go... it is such a bad habit of mine..."

Ray shook his head without saying anything and continued to follow her. If the path there hadn't been so immersed in the peaceful nature of Melemele Island, he would have given her a real piece of his mind. He had never met anyone so clueless and unconfident about anything in his life.

Knowing better than to get mad at a stranger, Ray took a deep breath. He let the whistling of the humid wind calm his spirits before opening his mouth.

"It's okay," Ray muttered. "I guess even if you _did _know the way, it would be hard to navigate through the darkness."

"I really am sorry for getting you caught up in this..." Lillie looked down in shame. "If only I were... more careful..."

"Honestly, it's fine," Ray assured with a groan. "You're paying me back more than you know by taking me to see the professor. That's enough for me."

Ray continued to lead Lillie down the path she told him to turn into. Fafnir waddled in between them to keep an eye out on any threats, although there probably wasn't much a young Bagon like Fafnir could do.

"So... what is this Pokémon you have?" Lillie asked, her eyes fixed on Ray's Bagon. "It is really cute!"

"His name is Fafnir, he's a Bagon," Ray answered and looked to his little partner Pokémon behind him proudly. "He lived by the cliffs over Kala'e Bay, near my house. Most Bagon like to jump off the cliffs into the bay to practice flying, but Fafnir was about to jump off a part of the cliff that would have landed him on some rocks. I grabbed him before he could fall to his death and I guess we just became friends. He came by my house every night after that."

"What type is he?"

"From what I've read on the internet Bagon are Dragon-types. I guess it's a good sign that my first Pokémon is a Dragon-type because I always watch videos of Lance Hinotsubasa from the Kanto region, he's a Dragon-type _master_. Anyways, Bagon like to jump off cliffs because they think it'll give them wings. They developed some really tough hide in order to prevent them from falling to their deaths, but Fafnir here has some softer hide. The last thing I want is for him to jump to his death thinking he'll grow wings."

Fafnir growled, feeling insulted by Ray.

"Oh come on, buddy," Ray chuckled. "You know I'm just looking out for you."

"So are you planning on being a Dragon-type trainer?"

"I don't know, probably not," Ray shrugged. He hadn't really given it much thought. What type of Pokémon _would_ he raise? Or would he focus on a type at all? "I guess I'll just see what different Pokémon I come across. It's hard to really answer that."

"I see... so it must be really nice to have parents that let you go out and become a Pokémon trainer..."

Ray stopped in his tracks briefly and clenched his fists. The mention of his parents raised his blood pressure again. He knew Lillie didn't have any ill intents about mentioning his parents, so it wouldn't be fair to get mad at her. Instead, he took another deep breath and calmed himself down quickly before resuming his walk.

"My parents and I..." Ray began with a defeated sigh. "We don't really see eye-to-eye. They don't want me to leave home to become a Pokémon trainer."

Lillie didn't initially respond, and when Ray turned back to face her he could see her eyes were wide and mouth agape. But there was something else he noticed in her eyes... comfort, maybe? Or empathy?

"Is there something wrong with that?" He asked.

"Not at all..." Lillie shook her head and cleared her throat. "So you ran away then?"

"Yup, I ran away a few hours ago. Right before the festival, in fact. That's why I need to see Professor Kukui. I need to get an Island Challenge Amulet and prove to my parents that I'm capable of traveling Alola. That I'm capable of raising Pokémon. That I'm capable of being who _I _want myself to be. They baby me way too much and I'm sick and tired of it."

Suddenly, Ray couldn't hear Lillie's or Fafnir's footsteps behind him anymore. He turned around and saw that she was standing in place a good distance behind him, looking at the ground. Even through the dense darkness, Ray noticed a single teardrop fall from her face to the grass below her. Even Fafnir was by her side, assuaging her by rubbing her shin with his stubby arms.

"What's wrong?" He asked and approached her. He could see there was a look of concern in his Bagon's eyes. "I can hear the ocean, we must be near the beach where you said the professor's lab was. Did you not want to go see the professor or something?"

"Nothing is wrong..." Lillie shook her head and wiped her eyes. "The topic of our conversation just made me remember some... unpleasant things."

"I-"

"Do not worry... I just need to calm myself..."

"Okay, sorry," Ray stated. Knowing better than to start poking around about what those "things" were, he just dropped the subject altogether.

Ray cleared through some palm trees when he heard Lillie and Fafnir both trail him again. Leading the way through the narrow trail in the jungle, he was finally able to see the horizon, moonlit water marking the border. They had finally made it to the beach.

"So if my memory is correct, this is the southern beach," Ray stated and walked onto the beach, small grains of sand beginning to flood into his shoes. The calmness of the ocean resonated with him and he deeply inhaled the salty ocean breeze. He turned back just to make sure Lillie had stopped crying, and instead he observed that she had a much more confident expression on her face.

"This is the place..." Lillie nodded. "The professor's lab should be right-AAH!"

_Whoosh!_

There was a rapid blur that raced in front of the pair, looping from their back-right and going into their back-left. Both Ray and Lillie fell on their butts. Not knowing what just happened, they started to shuffle backwards on the sand, not daring to accidentally turn their heads and spot their attacker. Unfortunately, the softness of the sand slowed them down considerably. Fafnir leapt in between them, ready to fight anything that dared to show its face in front of the Dragon Pokémon.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Ray whispered in sudden fear. He looked over to Lillie, who almost looked paralyzed with fear. Ray figured there was no way she was going to be any help in this situations, anyways. "Fafnir, build up your Rage! Whatever that thing was... it's going to strike again!"

Fafnir nodded and began to glow red, anticipating an attack from any direction.

"AAAAHHHH!"

Lillie's sharp scream pierced through the calmness of the night. There was a loud growl and a large Pokémon jumped on top of Lillie with force.

"Lillie, no!" Ray shouted, looking towards the new Pokémon.

The first thing Ray noticed about the assailant was its glowing red eyes and its patterned bloody-crimson and white fur. It was none other than the feared beast of Alola's night - Midnight Lycanroc.

The absolute last thing Ray wanted to come across on his first day as a trainer was a feral Midnight Lycanroc. From what he had learned in school, they stopped at _nothing_ to rip apart their prey to shreds. There were far too many horror stories of lonely trainers coming across the beast of the night. The poor souls who managed to live through a Midnight Lycanroc attack lived with permanent disabilities. But something didn't add up... Lycanroc always hunted by the cliffs or in the jungles, the only time they appeared on a beach was if a trainer _deliberately_ brought them there.

What on earth was a Midnight Lycanroc doing on a beach?

"Fafnir, use-"

But before Ray could give his Pokémon a command, he suddenly heard Lillie begin to laugh loudly. On second glance, the Lycanroc didn't appear feral at all! In fact, it was _playing _with Lillie.

Ray shook his head to make sure he wasn't just hallucinating. Even Fafnir was completely perplexed.

"Aww, Lyca!" Lillie giggled and rubbed the Wolf Pokémon's belly, and Ray could tell that the Pokémon was actually happy to see her!

_What the fresh hell is going on?_

"You found Lillie, Lyca!" A suave voice called out from behind the pair.

"Wait a minute... you're-" Ray muttered and turned his head to look behind. He had heard that voice many times on the news, on battle shows, even on radio interviews. It was the voice he had been dying to hear in person for over a year now. And when Ray spotted him, a deep relief set in as he recognized the pearly-white lab coat draped over a muscular shirtless chest. It was none other than... "-Professor Kukui!"

"Sorry, cousin..." the professor scowled at his Lycanroc when he noticed the massive jolt of fear it gave Ray and Fafnir. "Hope Lyca here didn't startle you too much, yeah!"

* * *

_**A/N:** Sorry that this chapter is a lot less Pokémon-based and more character-based. But because of that it's relatively short :) always gotta get some thick dialogue and character-building in every now and then :p_

_As always, please let me know in the form of a review or a private message whether you liked/hated anything about the chapter! I always like to go back and fix things up if I feel that they're not up to par, so everything helps!_


	5. 4: A New Day, a New Journey

**_A/N: _**_Few things I want to state before you read this one._

_1\. I've included **character bios for Ailey, Ray, Hau, and Lillie on my profile**. Be warned as **they do contain spoilers**, especially if you're only reading this chapter in the future when I already have at least 30+ written._

_2\. I apologize for not getting a chapter out last week. The beginning of Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon can be very boring in my opinion, so I wanted to spice things up by changing how the story starts in comparison to the games. As a result, it took a lot more time to brainstorm some original ideas and put them together for the first few chapters. Hopefully this won't be the case in the future (because I'm super excited to write out what I have outlined after Melemele Island and I literally cannot wait to put them into full-fledged chapters). A little info on my update pattern, I'll only upload a chapter if I have the next 2-3 fully written (but not proofread). The only time this won't be the case is during interlude chapters. Onto fun news however (since we're on the topic of interludes), as a little token of my thanks for being so patient with me, keep an eye out for something special this week :)_

_3\. I completely forgot to mention this before, but I've read the manga for Sun and Moon (in addition to Red/Blue/Green, Yellow, Gold/Silver, Crystal, Ruby/Sapphire, FireRed/LeafGreen, Emerald, X/Y, and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire). As such, I'm going to be taking some elements from the manga and inserting it into the story. I don't want to make all three of Hau, Ailey, and Ray generic trainers on their island challenges, so I'm going to be adding a little spice into the story like the manga does. __If you've read the Sun and Moon manga before, then you might already have an idea of the path I've carved for Ailey by now. So in this chapter, you can expect to learn the familiar role that Ray will be tasked with ;)_

_Okay, now that we have all of that out of the way, here we have yet another character development chapter! I actually love writing these because as an author, there's nothing more fun than fleshing out your characters and having them meet people (well, for me at least). Part of the reason this chapter took so long to get out though is **because **it's a development/transition chapter, and as such I needed to add enough detail to not make it totally boring (cause I know everyone loves the action-packed chapters :p). I know not a lot of people are a fan of these "transition" chapters, and I will try my absolute best to cut down on them if possible, but unfortunately they are a necessary evil in a story - **especially **since we're still technically at the beginning of the story and we need to get some characteristics fleshed out before we step into the wild wild Alola region! Anyways, I hope it came out okay! Let me know in the reviews or in a PM what you liked or didn't. I always greatly appreciate the feedback, good or bad :)_

_Alright, that's enough of my rambling!_

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _****_Pokémon nor do I own any of their characters. This is merely a fan story written using the template Game Freak has provided with Pokémon._**

**_Rated T for: Mild adult language, violence, and drug usage_**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**A NEW DAY, A NEW JOURNEY**

Ray sat on the beachfront trying to catch his breath for what felt like the millionth time again. Fafnir was sitting next to him in the same position, _also _trying to catch his breath. In the span of a few hours he ran away from home, fell off a narrow bridge in disrepair, met the Guardian Deity Tapu Koko, met a strange girl with a peculiar Pokémon, encountered a (friendly) Midnight Lycanroc, and managed to _still _find Professor Kukui in the end. It was only his first day away from home but it already felt like a week has passed.

Thankfully, the cool breeze of the oceanfront night was more than enough to help him relax.

"Come on back, Lyca!"

Ray squinted his eyes at the bright turquoise flash of Professor Kukui recalling his Lycanroc back into its Poké Ball. He took deep breaths in and out before standing up, wiping sandy grains off of his clothes. He couldn't believe it, the moment he had been waiting for all these months had finally arrived. Before he could say anything, the professor approached him. He had to admit, the professor looked a little intimidating without a shirt beneath his lab coat.

"So I have you to thank for finding my assistant, yeah?" Professor Kukui smirked and placed his hand on Ray's shoulder. He looked over to Lillie, who was glancing down at the sand with a remorseful expression. "She gets lost a lot, but she's got a good heart."

"Yeah, it was definitely an _adventure _getting here," Ray shrugged. He started to feel bad for predisposing Lillie as a clueless tourist especially since she had the word of the professor, but he still almost _died _trying to help her out. That stressful event wasn't going to leave his memory anytime soon.

"I want to apologize for Lyca scaring you, cousin." Kukui sighed, sensing that the boy was still a little apprehensive from the encounter. "She's a good Lycanroc, but sometimes she gets a little too excited."

"No, don't worry about that, professor." Ray shook his head. He definitely didn't want to appear too fearful in front of the professor. "But I _did _want to see you professor. There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh?" The professor asked curiously, raising his eyebrow. "What's on your mind, cousin?"

Ray took a deep breath. It was finally time to summon the courage to ask Professor Kukui for an island challenge amulet. Nervously, he adjusted his signature red bucket hat so he wouldn't appear _too _disheveled. If he wanted Professor Kukui to accept his request, he would at least have to _appear_ confident.

He looked down to his Bagon, who gave its trainer a confident nod. If his Pokémon was ready, then so was he.

"My name is Ray Kau Elio," Ray stated and stuck out his hand. The professor nodded and shook it. "And my Pokémon and I are ready to take on the island challenge."

Professor Kukui didn't initially respond, but Ray spotted a glint of fire in his eyes. Was the professor mad? Or was he thrilled?

"Elio..." Kukui muttered and closed his eyes in thought. He held his goatee in between his thumb and index finger before continuing. "I remember that last name... you graduated from Hau'oli City's Trainers' School last month, yeah?"

Ray nodded. That was surprising, Kukui already knew who he was? He never expected that.

Kukui opened his eyes again, but this time he looked apologetic. "Sorry, cousin, but I'm afraid I can't give you an island challenge amulet just like _that_..." Kukui frowned, but he could still spot the determination in Ray's eyes. "I can't just give around amulets to every person who asks for one. I don't have an infinite supply of them, after all."

"What do you mean?" Ray asked, slightly offended. _I brought back your useless assistant. I should at least get some reward for that. _"I thought the island challenge was a rite of passage for _every _Alolan teenager?"

"Not _every _teenager," Kukui corrected him. "You've got to be able to _prove _that you're strong enough to go on the island challenge, yeah. The island challenge is dangerous, and I can't allow someone to embark on it without knowing if they're strong enough to handle it. Especially after a huge wave of failed island challengers went on to join those thugs in Team Skull. I just can't do it. E kala mai iaʻu."

Ray winced at the mention of the treacherous Team Skull.

"But..." Ray huffed before realizing any of his protests would be useless. Kukui had brought forth some fair points.

"Today, I gave island challenge amulets to two new trainers," Kukui explained. "We held a large festival in their honor and they proved themselves by battling it out in front of our very own Guardian Deity. I could feel the passion in their moves, and so could Tapu Koko as it gave them its shout of approval, yeah. _That _is the proof that every challenger needs to bear, and I'm not sure you've satisfied that yet. After all, I've only just met you, cousin."

How on earth would Ray be able to talk Kukui into giving him an island challenge amulet? He could already see that simply escorting Lillie back home wasn't enough. Maybe a battle would suffice instead? He already ran away from home, he couldn't just go back the same day. His parents would make roast meat out of him, and he had already promised Fafnir a good adventure.

Ray began to feel irate. He went through all the trouble of running away from home, attending the festival, and even saving Nebby so he would be able to talk to Professor Kukui in the end. At the very least he expected that to be enough "proof" to earn an island challenge amulet. The last thing he expected was to have his request rejected.

But... it wasn't like he was ever _assured _an island challenge amulet. He couldn't get upset about being hopeful over a hypothetical.

"Um... professor..." Lillie muttered softly from behind them. Through his state of dejection, Ray completely forgot that Lillie was still standing there.

"Yeah?" Professor Kukui asked and turned to his assistant. "What's up?"

"Ray has proved himself... to me at least..." Lillie voiced. Her usual nervous attitude was replaced by one that brought forth a little confidence. "I think he has earned this island challenge amulet."

Ray looked at the blonde with wide eyes. Was she really vouching for him? Even Nebby was out of its bag, reflecting the determined appearance of Lillie's face. Even though he wasn't sure if she knew about Alolan traditions, she seemed to believe that he was capable enough to go on the island challenge by himself.

He _still _hadn't fully warmed up to her, but speaking out on his behalf gave him a nice feeling of approval.

"Oh?" Kukui uttered. "You think so, Lillie?"

"Absolutely." Lillie nodded. She stated it in a way that both Ray and Kukui could tell her voice wasn't trailing off like it usually did. She was _serious_.

"Pew!" Nebby was serious, too.

Kukui closed his eyes again in thought and smirked. His smirk quickly turned into a wide grin and he nodded his head. Did he just... have a change of heart? Was that all it took?

"Why don't we go on a little walk to my lab, then?" Kukui suggested, beginning to walk away from the teenagers and towards the direction of his lab. "Come on, cousin. I'm curious to see what made Lillie vouch for you, yeah."

* * *

Professor Kukui walked across the beach towards his lab with Ray and Lillie, both of their Pokémon tucked away into their Poké Ball and bag, respectively. It wasn't long before they finally reached it, and Ray couldn't tell how anyone was supposed to believe _that _building was a lab. It was massive, he had to give it that, but it was still almost entirely wooden with holes all over the roof and the walls. Ray had seen the building a million times in the past, but he never expected it to be the lab of famed Professor Kukui!

On the way there and up until reaching the front porch of the wooden "lab", Lillie described in surprising detail of the events that took place on Mahalo Trail. She left out no details explaining how Ray was the only trainer in the entire festival to respond to her cries for help, how he selflessly protected Nebby from an angry flock of Spearow, and most importantly... how Tapu Koko appeared to save him.

Ray wasn't sure how the professor would react to hearing the news about Tapu Koko's appearance. Would he think Lillie was lying? Or that the two teenagers let their imaginations get the best of them? Either way, he was feeling increasingly nervous as they ascended the wooden steps of the lab's porch, but the soundness of the night and the soft crashing of the ocean waves helped him stay level-headed.

"That's... _quite _the story you've got there, cousin..." Kukui said.

There was a subtle hint of skepticism in his voice, but that was only a natural reaction to hearing about a Guardian Deity appear before somebody. They very rarely appeared in front of humans after all.

"Well the story is true," Ray assured the professor, looking to Lillie for additional reassurance. The girl nodded confidently. "All of it."

"And you've lived your entire life in Alola, right cousin?" Kukui asked.

"My entire life." Ray knew why Kukui asked him that. Any lifelong Alolan knew never to lie about encountering a Guardian Deity. There were far too many horror stories of the Guardian Deities sending terrifying curses onto anybody who dared speak false of an encounter.

Kukui didn't initially respond and looked away towards the moonlit ocean. Ray could tell he was deep in thought, however. Not wanting to interrupt the professor's thought process, Ray just silently waited for him to speak. It still didn't seem like the professor fully believed the story, even though it was his own assistant that recited it to him.

"I've got it!" Kukui suddenly exclaimed, a wide smile painted across his face. He looked back towards the teenagers. "Even time a Guardian Deity comes face-to-face with a human, it gives them a piece of tangible proof, yeah. Did you receive anything like that from Tapu Koko?"

Ray immediately felt dejected again. He definitely did not remember Tapu Koko leaving anything for him. If he couldn't bear proof of the encounter, he would not only get his request rejected but he would also be shunned by the professor. It sucked to realize that because Ray was one-hundred-and-ten-percent _certain _he encountered the Guardian Deity. If _only_ he had proof.

_Wait... I do have proof!_

"Hold on!" Ray exclaimed quickly and dug into his backpack. After fumbling around for a bit, he managed to find the rugged stone that Tapu Koko dropped for him. He held it out for Kukui to see. "Tapu Koko left me with this."

"It did." Lillie nodded, backing up Ray yet again. "Just as it saved Ray and Nebby from falling off the bridge, it dropped that stone on the ground."

"Oh my..." Kukui marveled as he took the stone into his hands. He ran his long, slender fingers over it, feeling every crease, bump, and crack that the stone was decorated with. His eyes lit up with wonder. The story was true after all. "So it's true... you really _did _meet the Guardian Deity, cousin..."

Ray nodded with confidence. It looked like Professor Kukui finally believed his story.

"I'll tell you what," Kukui began. He handed Ray his intriguing stone back and opened the lab's front door. "Since it's getting late, why don't you spend the night at the lab? I wouldn't want to send you home all by yourself at this hour, the next Lycanroc you run into probably won't be mine, cousin!"

"Are... you sure?" Ray asked. "I don't want to be a bother."

"Well, sure! You won't be a bother at all, cousin!" Kukui laughed. "Besides, I'm completely beat up from today and since it looks like you _were _telling the truth about Tapu Koko, there are some things I need to go over with you. We can do that in the morning. Lillie already has her own loft. I'm sure you can use a spare bedroom to the side."

Ray looked to the blonde girl for confirmation. If she _did _stay with the professor, then maybe he wouldn't feel too bad for staying either.

"I have actually been, um, imposing on the professor here for the past three months," Lillie laughed when she saw Ray look at her with wide eyes. "I am not much of an assistant, but it is the least I can do to pay him back for letting me stay."

Ray immediately began to feel a rush of excitement well up within him. Now that the professor saw proof of his encounter with the Guardian Deity, would he finally let him go on the island challenge? After all, he had the word of the professor's strange assistant as well.

"Sounds like a plan then," Ray nodded with a proud smirk and followed Professor Kukui and Lillie into the lab

_Finally, I can start my adventure. I can prove to my family that I'm stronger than they think._

* * *

"Chirp-chirp!"

The sweet songs of wild Pikipek and Trumbeak filled the otherwise quiet air as the early morning sunlight shone down on Melemele Island. The mid-afternoon heat was still several hours away, so Hau and Ailey wasted no time in leaving for Hau'oli City, making sure to strap their island challenge amulets to their bags. The last thing they wanted to do was get caught in the infamous Alolan summer heat waves, so they planned to reach Hau'oli City fast enough to get some shelter and coolness. They already managed to make it far away from Iki Town and towards the outskirts of Hau'oli City, where Ailey could see the tall skyscrapers take form in the horizon.

Hau came by Ailey's house earlier in the morning all packed-up and ready to go. Ailey was still a little disoriented at her early wake-up (courtesy of mom), but when she realized it was time to head out she quickly changed into her orange flowery tanktop, white shorts, yellow satchel, and her favorite straw hat. She rapidly brushed her strawberry blonde hair, tied both ends into neat pigtail braids, and flew out of the house with an apple in hand without saying a word (much to her mother's disappointment - although she promised the night before to visit back in a couple days, a full week at most).

The closer the pair got to the center of Hau'oli City, the more Ailey could smell the fresh scent of seawater carried by the morning's breeze. Being from the central Kanto city of Saffron meant she had never really been near a beach unless her family deliberately took a vacation to Fuschia City or Cerulean City, but she could definitely get used to the beachy atmosphere of Melemele Island. She could only hope that the rest of the islands would be similar.

Right as they entered the city, they were bombarded by different things to do. Immediately, a young woman ran over to Ailey and spotted her out as a newcomer to Alola. After some failed attempts, she managed to successfully teach Ailey how to greet other people in Alola (Hau couldn't stop laughing when she accidentally whacked the woman in the face trying to wave with both hands). Afterwards, Ailey and Hau managed to get their PokéDexes updated with a new PokéFinder feature that can use a thermal camera to spot Pokémon they can't ordinarily see with the naked eye. And then after that they walked into a hair salon so Ailey could check out new hairstyles but then left immediately after when she saw the prices for cuts.

Finally, they managed to make it to a popular strip close to the beach filled with marts and food stands. Since summer break was in full swing, the area was filled with children and teenagers who were on vacation and looking for ways to relax and spend their summer days.

"This place is really popular, huh?" Ailey asked as she happily people-watched.

"Yup yup!" Hau replied cheerfully and snacked on a granola bar he packed from home. "We're close to the Hau'oli Marina, which is one of the most popular places in the city!"

"The marina, huh?"

"Yup!" Hau replied cheerfully again. "Since the best beach in the city is so close to the marina, it's popular with both sailors and tourists! Even Professor Kukui keeps his old boat here in case he wants to sail to another island."

"Interesting..." Ailey mumbled. "So I take it that most of these people aren't serious trainers like you and I? They're just random tourists?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Hau corrected her with a frown. "This place is frequented by all sorts of powerful trainers! I know some famous trainers from other regions like to visit here, especially since it's the summer. In fact, I know some of the trial captains come out to the beach a lot."

"Trial captain..." Ailey muttered to herself. "I'm guessing they run each checkpoint of the island challenge? Kinda like how we had gyms and their leaders back in Kanto?"

"The heck are gyms?" Hau asked. Ailey could tell the term was completely unfamiliar to him.

_Who the hell doesn't know what a gym is?_

"Oh, never mind about those," she shook her head and looked out to the beach. She always thought the Kanto gyms were world famous, so it was a complete surprise to find out that Hau had know idea what a gym even was. "They're just some powerful trainers in the Kanto region."

At the mention of her home region, she couldn't help but notice how different Alola was from it. It was amazing how many people were out enjoying the gorgeous weather. It was _nothing _like back home in Kanto, where new crime syndicates were formed every year that kept people off the streets. She had learned before moving that the only threat on Alola took the form of petty crooks in a gang called Team Skull, which was nothing compared to the nefarious Team Rocket that plagued the streets of Kanto when she was a little girl.

Her parents were serious trainers back in the day, so she was never too scared of Team Rocket. If a Team Rocket member was ever caught astray near her house in Saffron City, they would have met the wrath of her father's Pidgeot and Arcanine. The organization once took over her home city's most important company, Silph, and caused all sorts of trouble. But fortunately they were put in their place by two young trainers who went on to become the next two Pokémon League Champions of Kanto.

From what she had heard from the few Alolan residents she met, Team Skull was not even remotely close to that. Even though most Alolans were fearful of the organization, the things they claimed Team Skull did paled in comparison to Team Rocket. Instead of taking over companies, laundering money, kidnapping trainers, and even murdering innocent citizens like Team Rocket did, Team Skull just liked to cause small trouble on the islands. They would usually block paths, steal items, and occasionally steal a Pokémon. They were nothing for her to be afraid of.

Still, though, Ailey had hoped to never come across them.

"So what do we have planned for today?" she asked her traveling companion, wanting to shift her thought process away from the criminal organization.

"You consider yourself much of a shopper?"

"A shopper?" Ailey had to think for a moment. "I mean, I kinda enjoy shopping when it's for things I need. But I hate how much time it wastes sometimes."

"Well if we're gonna wanna tackle our island challenge at full speed we've gotta hit up the Hau'oli City Mall!" Hau pumped his fist. "There's all sorts of cool stuff there for trainers like you and me. We can buy clothes, battle supplies, souvenirs, and a whole bunch of other stuff!"

Ailey was still a little hesitant to go straight into the island challenge. She wanted to put together a team of the strongest, nastiest, most powerful Pokémon she could assemble before deciding to do anything concrete. And in order to do that, she needed to research the different types of Pokémon around Alola and what made each of them unlock their true potentials.

But still, it couldn't hurt to stock up on things.

'Alright, lead the way buckaroo."

Ailey followed as Hau took her through some streets of the city. They occasionally had to cut through people and traffic, and at some points Ailey felt that Hau had no idea where he was leading them. As they turned a corner, Ailey noticed a large black building with the text "Hau'oli City Mall" written on a massive sign above it. It didn't look like Hau had noticed it...

"You sure you know where you're going?" Ailey sneered.

"I'm telling you, I know this city like the back of my hand," Hau waved her question off. "All we gotta do is take a left turn here and..."

"We're right at the mall, doofus," Ailey laughed loudly. She pointed towards the big black building. "You've been here a million times and you still had no idea where you were going. My first time at the mall and I already found it!"

* * *

"Think this'll look good on me?"

Hau glanced at the shirt that Ailey held up in front of her. It was a white frilly top with a black Pikachu splattered on the front. He thought for a few seconds and then grimaced at the thought of Ailey wearing something like that. He looked to the two Pokémon that were now out their Poké Balls and standing next to him, his Rowlet and Ailey's Litten.

They had already spent a few hours at the mall exploring all the stores and looking at all sorts of traveling supplies. Some of the items were ludicrously expensive such as Full Restores and Ultra Balls, so they chose to settle on lesser, cheaper items such as Potions and regular Poké Balls. Once they finished stocking up on the items they _needed_, Ailey suggested they go to the "Gracidea" clothing store and look at some of the items they _wanted_.

"What's that face supposed to mean?" Ailey asked with a scowl, noticing the unpleasant look on Hau's face. She looked to Singe and Hau's Rowlet who shared the same looks of uncertainty.

"I don't know, it just doesn't go well with your blonde hair..." Hau shrugged. "That just looks a little too... _girly_... I guess."

"Girly?" Ailey hissed. "You think I can't wear it because it looks _girly_? I'M A GODDAMN GIRL!"

"Sorry!" Hau threw his hands up in defense. "You just seem a little less..." but he stopped his sentence once he realized each word he uttered made Ailey look more and more like she was about to beat him up. Kneeling, he looked to Singe and Rowlet for reassurance. "You guys think the same, right?"

"Koo..."

"Mrowr..."

Ailey brushed them away and continued looking through clothes. She was certain she would at least find _something _that could look good. She couldn't just travel around Alola with only one change of clothes! The amount of time she would spend on laundry would be ridiculous. As she glanced at the shirt that Hau didn't like, she noticed the price tag.

_$49,500!? What in the absolute hell is that price!?_

"Okay, I'm _definitely _not getting this one," Ailey stated sternly and put the shirt back down. She could hear Hau sigh with relief. In defiance, she quickly sifted through the other clothes before seeing they were all similarly priced. "Wait... we're in a high-end clothing store! We can't afford _anything _here!"

"I was gonna tell you that..." Hau groaned. "But you were just _so _insistent on checking this place out."

"You never told me anything!"

"I said I was 'gonna' tell you," Hau corrected her, shaking his head. "You'd already bolted in here by that time."

"Now I'll never find clothes to wear..." Ailey sulked. "With these prices, how does anyone here afford more than a single change of clothes?"

"You know, there are cheaper stores, right?" Hau informed her. "Like, significantly cheaper stores. Even in this very mall. You just happened to walk into the most expensive designer store in all of Alola!"

"After your island challenges, you'll have more than enough money to buy out the entire store."

Ailey and Hau turned around at the sound of a soothing male's voice coming from behind them. Approaching them was a boy their age with tanned skin, piercing grey eyes, and luscious pink hair. Based on what he was wearing, it looked like he bought his entire wardrobe at "Gracidea"; a brown sweater-vest over a white button-down shirt and white dress pants. Needless to say, the boy was somehow flushed with money.

However, behind him was an older male who, for _some_ reason, looked eerily familiar to Ailey. His tanned skin, blue Alolan button-down top, white shorts, and purple sandals indicated that he had been in Alola for a long time. But there was something about his long grey hair and facial features that just looked... recognizable. _Too _recognizable.

Rowlet and Singe hopped onto their trainers' shoulders defensively at the sight of the strangers.

"I apologize for interrupting," the pink-haired boy said with a chuckle. "I just couldn't help but notice those island challenge amulets you had on your bags."

"Uhh... yeah..." Ailey replied with a blank stare. _Who the hell is this guy?_

"We just headed out today!" Hau grinned brightly. "And we're going to try and tackle our first trials by at least tomorrow."

"Pardon me, you only started on your journey today?" the boy asked, scoffing loudly. "You might need a little bit more training if you want to take on Melemele's only trial. Newcomers aren't very successful with it."

"'Scuse me?" Ailey hissed. The nerve of this random guy to insult _her_. "Who're you calling '_newcomers_'?"

The pink-haired boy shrugged with a smirk, only elevating Ailey's anger. "You've got two of the Pokémon that Professor Kukui just raised. You're definitely newcomers, although those two look quite well-trained already."

"Koo!"

"Mrowr!"

_Who does this preppy brat think he is?_

"Now, now, you are a trial captain after all," the older male told the pink-haired boy, resting a hand on his shoulder apprehensively. "Don't try to give them so much trouble right off the bat. Especially without introducing yourself."

_...Trial captain?_

"You're right," the boy sighed in response to the older man's lecture. He turned towards Ailey and Hau. "My name is Ilima, and I run the _only_ trial on Melemele Island." There was a heavy tone of pretentiousness in his words.

Ailey's irritation began to swell up. She wasn't too keen on diving into the island challenge headfirst, but she wanted to stomp Ilima's trial just to show him up. She had only met him and she already couldn't _stand _him.

"We'll beat your trial so hard that it burns to the ground. Then there won't be _any _trials on Melemele Island for you to run," Ailey growled under her breath, her blonde eyebrows curling downwards in a frown.

"_Psst..._" Hau whispered to his irritated traveling companion, his voice quiet enough for only Ailey to hear. "I've never met him but I've heard this guy Ilima's always been kinda stuck-up. Just don't let it get to you."

"Please, don't mind Ilima too much," the older, familiar-looking man loudly reassured the two teenagers. He glanced between them carefully. "My name is Sam Oak, I work here in Alola with Professor Kukui."

_Sam Oak...? Wait a minute... he's Samuel Oak! The famous Professor Oak from my home region of Kanto!_

"Whoa!" Ailey marveled loudly, her anger towards Ilima quickly evaporated and turned into awe at Professor Oak. She'd only heard his name every day when she was in Kanto, she _never _expected him to be traveling through Alola! "Y-you're Professor Oak from Kanto! I just moved from there and I've heard so much about you!"

"Ho-ho-ho!" Professor Oak laughed loudly. "Unfortunately, you might be mistaking me for my cousin, Samuel Oak."

"But... didn't you say you were '_Sam_' Oak?" Ailey asked in confusion. Was this some sort of a prank?

"Ha! My cousin Samuel and I are almost identical!" Oak continued to laugh. "I am _Samson _Oak, I work exclusively in Alola."

_Oh, this guy's just a pretender then..._

"Ilima and I just couldn't help but notice your amulets," the fake-Professor Oak continued. "There aren't very many children out on their island challenges nowadays, so we thought we'd introduce ourselves."

"Well it's nice to meet you professor!" Hau grinned widely.

"I assume you two received PokéDex devices from Professor Kukui? Or has he not started handing them out yet?" Samson Oak asked.

"Yup, we got them last night!" Hau shot the professor a thumbs-up. He turned his shoulder and reached into his backpack, pulling out the shiny new PokéDex that he set up last night.

"Fantastic!" Oak cheered. "Kukui, Samuel, and I developed the newest versions of the PokéDex together and we think the new Alolan trainers will love them!"

"I already do, thanks so much for developing it!" Hau responded. "I really like the Pokémon registration feature! Now those thugs in Team Skull can never steal my Pokémon!"

"Ahh... I figured you would be fond of that feature..." Professor Oak responded softly, suddenly stricken by thought.

"Is something the matter, professor?" Hau asked. He glanced towards Ailey to hear what she had to say, but it still looked like she was completely bummed that Samson wasn't Samuel.

Oak didn't initially answer Hau, but both teenagers could tell there was something bothering him. His mood completely shifted from positive to negative.

"It was when you mentioned Team Skull..." Oak finally admitted with a defeated sigh. "As a matter of fact, I actually happened to run into them last night."

"Not those troublemakers!" Hau cried out. The normally cheery boy was now more concerned than anything else. "Did they do something to you?"

"They took two of the professor's rare Pokémon," Ilima explained to Hau. "He had been raising three Pokémon to give to new trainers in Kanto and Team Skull managed to swipe two of them."

Ailey's blood began to boil again. This time it wasn't directed as Ilima, however, it was directed at the thieves from Team Skull. The last thing she wanted to hear about on her island challenge was those stupid crooks that everyone told her to watch out for. If Team Rocket in Kanto taught her anything, it was that Team Skull was probably nothing more than a nuisance.

However, she was stuck on the mention of three Pokémon. Three Kantonian Pokémon... where had she heard something like that?

"Three Pokémon to give to trainers in Kanto..." Ailey muttered before hitting an epiphany. "Wait a minute, you're talking about Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle!"

"Precisely," Oak nodded. "Samuel didn't have time to train the three of them so he sent them to me, hoping I could do some of that work for him. Those thugs poached Charmander and Squirtle when I was taking a stroll last night, leaving me behind with just poor Bulbasaur. I was going to have Professor Kukui ship me an Alolan Water and Fire-type to make up for them..." He glanced to the Litten on Ailey's shoulder before continuing. "...but he told me the Fire-type had already been given away."

"Aww, sorry..." Ailey apologized. "Singe here is my partner Pokémon."

"Mrowr!" Singe cooed proudly.

"Don't worry about it," Oak waved off their apologies. "I didn't expect him to hold on to them for long anyways."

"When I was a kid I always dreamt of picking between one of Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle," Ailey explained to the professor. Singe purred in annoyance at the thought of Ailey picking another Pokémon over him, but she quickly nuzzled him with her cheek to reassure him that he was still her very first partner. "I grew up in Kanto and only moved here last week, so I'm very familiar with the three Kanto starter Pokémon."

"Really?" Oak asked with a smirk. "In that case, might I ask for your help?"

"Really, professor?" Ilima scoffed in bewilderment. "You're going to ask these _newcomers _for help?"

"Shut up you prep," Ailey hissed at the trial captain. Ilima seemed to frown at her insult.

"Mrowr!" Singe growled from her shoulder, giving his trainer some backup.

"We'd be happy to help!" Hau exclaimed, completely ignoring Ilima's comment. "We're on our island challenges after all. We need to get stronger and help all sorts of people on the way. That's my motto, at least!"

"Really? You would?" Oak asked thankfully.

"Hau's right, beating up on those pesky Team Skull losers could be some good training," Ailey giggled and sarcastically flexed her arm. Even though she was joking, a part of her really wanted to see if she actually physically manage to beat them up. "And besides, if Ilima here thinks we're not good enough for the trial, then maybe we can prove our strength by getting those Pokémon back." She stuck her tongue out at the trial captain and his frown only grew larger.

"You children are wonderful!" Oak sighed in relief. "Tell you what, if you can get those Pokémon back for me, I'll be sure to reward you nicely." He looked over to Ilima, who was now irritated that Oak was already trusting his rare Pokémon with a couple of newcomers. "I think even Ilima here would be more than happy to let you take on his trial if you did."

"Just leave it to us," Hau stated confidently. He looked to Ailey and the two nodded in unison. Even Rowlet and Singe were now determined to get Oak's Pokémon back. "Team Skull won't know what hit them when they meet the full combined power of Rowlet, Pikipek, Singe, and Buzz."

"You two have no idea what you're in for, but that's none of my business," Ilima shrugged for what felt like the millionth time, much to Ailey's continued annoyance.

"They why don't _you _come help us?" Ailey asked the pretentious trial captain. "Since you're such a tough trial captain."

"Fine, I'll come show you newcomers the ropes," Ilima chuckled sarcastically. "After all, I'm sure you guys will need legitimate help before you start running for your mommies."

"Where are those thugs right now?" Ailey asked, looking to the professor and brushing off Ilima's insult.

Oak placed his hand over his mouth in thought before finally shaking his head. "I don't know where the ones who stole my Pokémon are, but according to 'Channel 8 News' there are some Team Skull thugs in the marina bothering some of the water Pokémon. You might find a clue there."

Hau looked to his traveling companion and nodded again. "You ready to do this, Ailey?"

Ailey nodded back. "Let's get to the marina."

"And I'm going to have to do most of the work..." Ilima groaned to himself as he followed the two teenagers sprinting out of the mall.

* * *

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Ray jolted out of his bed in shock. He quickly shook his head around, scanning the room to find the source of the abrupt noise and wiping some brown hair out of his eyes to get a better view. Once the blurriness of his eyesight began to settle, he realized that he wasn't in his own room. He was somewhere else.

_Where am I?_

Ray noticed the intricate but damaged woodwork of the walls. He had never been anywhere that looked like this in his life. Where was he? He turned his head towards the nightstand on the side of the bed and saw a small stand-up picture frame. On the picture was a happy couple, a man on the left and a woman on the right. The man was familiar looking with a black goatee and donning a fancy grey suit and the pretty white-haired woman was wearing a wedding gown with thick red lipstick.

_This is Professor Kukui... and his wife I'm guessing? Wait... that's right! I'm in the professor's lab!_

He looked at the digital clock placed next to the photo and almost flipped out when he saw the time. 10:30 AM! He already missed his scheduled personal meditation time with Fafnir!

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"Who is it? You can come on in!" Ray stated loudly. Since he was at the professor's lab, it could only have been either Lillie or the professor himself. "I said you can come o-"

Before Ray could finish his sentence, the door flung open and there was a terrifying looking Pokémon glaring at him. Ray recognized the blood-red eyes instantly. It was a Midnight Lycanroc!

"Oh _shit_!"

_Wait a minute, that's just Lyca! Man, the professor really needs to get a friendlier looking Pokémon to wake up his guests with._

"Sorry, cousin!" he heard the professor shout from a distance outside of the room, clearly responding to Ray's audible fearful curse. "I just sent Lyca to wake you up. Get ready and come to the dining table with Extreme Speed, we'll talk when you're here!"

Ray groaned and hopped out of the bed. Once Lyca was satisfied with seeing Ray get up from bed, she closed the door and retreated back to wherever she came from.

Heading off to the bathroom, Ray quickly brushed his teeth, threw off his pajamas, hopped in the shower, and then changed into his favorite traveling clothes once he was dried off. He took one look in the mirror to make sure he didn't look like a complete bum and wiped some remaining dirt from yesterday off of his light blue tanktop and white basketball shorts. There were still some small cuts and scrapes on his knees from Tapu Koko flinging him to the ground, so he pulled up black compression sleeves over each knee to hide them. He slipped on his red water shoes and fit his red bucket hat snugly on his head.

_I'm ready._

Feeling comfortable with the way he looked, he put all of his belongings in his backpack and zipped it shut, making sure to clip Fafnir's Poké Ball to his trainer belt. Finally, he sighed and departed the guest bedroom in order to head to the dining room. Fortunately for him, the lab was essentially just one open space outside of the bedrooms. It was just as wooden on the inside as it was on the outside, and Ray could tell it was the perfect man cave for a passionate Pokémon professor. Holes littered the wall and various Poké Toys were scattered all over the floor. Near the front door he could spot the dining table where Professor Kukui and Lillie had already been waiting for him.

"Alola and good morning to you, cousin!" Kukui grinned brightly at the teenager, sipping on a warm cup of coffee at the wooden dinner table. Lillie was seated across from him with a book and a cup of Moomoo Milk in front of her, and Ray could see that even indoors she liked to wear her white dress and way-too-large matching sun hat.

"Good morning, professor," Ray responded with a smile, itching to get right down to business. He took a seat across from the professor, right next to Lillie. "Thank you so much for letting me stay the night at your lab, I really appreciate it."

"You don't worry about that, little cousin!" Kukui gave the teenager a thumbs-up.

"So what did you want to discuss with me?" Ray asked.

"First things first, let me take a look at that stone you got from Tapu Koko again," Kukui stated seriously. Ray nodded and pulled it out of the backpack, handing it to the professor. Now that he could see it in the daylight, Ray could make out varying colored gemstones peppered into the larger grey stone. There was some sort of diamond-shaped imprint in the center of it.

"Did you need to check the authenticity of something?" Ray asked, slightly taken aback that the professor wanted to see the stone _again_. Did he not believe it was real?

"No, this stone is absolutely the real deal," Kukui shook his head. "Instead, I want to hold onto it for a while, yeah."

"Wha... why?" Ray asked suddenly. That was _his_ gift from Tapu Koko! He wanted to keep it with him as a reminder that he encountered the elusive Guardian Deity himself. What could the professor possibly need to do with it?

"It needs to be blessed by Kahuna Hala," Kukui answered as he continued to inspect the stone carefully, rolling it and feeling it with his fingers repeatedly. "Once that's done, you'll be more than happy to see what this stone is capable of."

"Well... okay..." Ray shrugged. There wasn't much protesting he could do, and it wasn't like anything bad could happen if it was blessed by Kahuna Hala of all people. And besides, the mention of seeing what the stone would be "capable" of piqued his interest. "Sure, that's fine with me."

Kukui nodded with a grin and slid over a box that was on the table in front of Ray. Ray carefully examined the outside of it: it was solid red with golden text reading "PokéDex 7.0" engraved on the front. The box looked almost identical to that of a smartphone's.

"What's this?" Ray asked and slid the top off the box, revealing a red device with a large touchscreen. "I've never seen anything like it before!"

"It's called a PokéDex, every trainer who embarks on their island challenge nowadays gets one," Kukui explained. "Version 7.0 to be precise. It was developed in conjunction between yours truly and the Oak cousins from the Kanto region. It's essentially a smartphone, a Pokémon encyclopedia, and a personal assistant all in one, woo!"

"That actually sounds... really cool!" Ray beamed and took the device in his hand. It felt surprisingly light, but also sturdy at the same time. He powered the device on and waited for the main menu screen to appear. "Anything else it can do?"

"Well, it can also register a Pokémon to its trainer," Kukui answered. "That way, only _you _or anyone else you give access to can send out your Pokémon. It's a pretty neat security option that Samson Oak developed entirely on his own, almost like the PokéDex can use Protect."

Ray listened to the professor and found the "Register" option in the PokéDex's main menu. He carefully followed the instructions written on the screen and registered Fafnir's Poké Ball under his fingerprint. Just as he did that, a robotic voice echoed from the device.

"_Registered! Bagon, the Rock Head Pokémon. Type: Dragon. Its belief that it will be able to fly one day is apparently the influence of information carried in its genes. Whenever it sees bird Pokémon flying through the sky, it becomes envious and smashes its surroundings to bits with headbutts. Known moves currently learnt by this registered Pokémon include: Ember, Rage, Bite, and Leer. Its known ability is Rock Head. You may tap on any moves or abilities to find out more information._"

"Wow, it can tell me all this information? I had no idea Fafnir knew Bite!" Ray announced with a bright grin. "I'm blown away by this thing. How did it get all that information?"

"That little helper is known as 'Dexter'. All the smartphones nowadays have a virtual helper, so we figured it would be fitting to include one in the PokéDex as well, yeah. It processes the Pokémon's DNA through its Poké Ball and automatically registers characteristics of the Pokémon like its height, weight, types, ability, and lore. You'll have to thank Samuel Oak for coming up with that!"

"You sure you want to leave me with this?" Ray asked nervously, still clutching the new device in his hand. It seemed awfully expensive, and he had only met the professor last night. He would probably have to buy a case so he didn't break it in case of a fall. Hopefully it was sturdy enough to withstand one!

"Of course, cousin!" Kukui laughed and randomly put on his lightly-tinted sunglasses. "After all, you've got the blessings of Tapu Koko itself. And besides, I've still got about ten more unopened PokéDexes in the lab, I don't mind handing one to you."

"Wait a minute..." Ray muttered in realization at what Kukui had said earlier. "You said every trainer going on an island challenge gets a PokéDex. Does that mean...?"

"You're a sharp one, cousin," Kukui smirked. He reached into a chest pocket of his lab coat an pulled out an ornate object. The main body of the object contained a misshapen emblem composed of all four colors of the Alolan islands and was attached to a beady string at the top.

_Could that be?_

"It's an island challenge amulet," Kukui stated softly. "It's for you."

Ray couldn't believe it. He not only had the blessings of Tapu Koko now, but also the blessings of the esteemed Professor Kukui as well. He carefully took the amulet into his own hands and marveled at the intricacy of its design, running his fingertips over each detail. It was completely surreal... he was now holding the tool to carve his destiny with. The tool he had been pining to get his hands on ever since he even had preliminary thoughts about taking the island challenge for himself.

He was in the clear. He could officially begin his journey.

"I... I don't know what to say..." Ray breathed quietly, his eyes fixated on the amulet in his palms. "Saying 'thanks' isn't even enough..."

"On the contrary, I should be saying 'thanks' to _you_, cousin," Professor Kukui assured the wide-eyed teenager. "You found Lillie, saved her Pokémon, and brought her back unharmed. I can't express how much I appreciate it. And besides, every trainer nowadays begins their island challenge with a PokéDex and an amulet. I've just given you everything that I give everyone else."

Ray dismissed the praise with a wave of his hand. "It was nothing, professor. Any trainer would have done the same, it just _happened_ to be me."

Professor Kukui grinned at Ray's words. He was feeling warm inside after meeting three selfless trainers all in the span of a week. It gave him hope that the new youth of Alola were far more respectful of the region's traditions than the ones that came directly before them. The ones that banded together and formed the accursed Team Skull.

"But seriously, to you I'm probably just a random trainer," Ray continued. "At least let me _try _and repay you."

Professor Kukui sat in his chair and thought for a minute. Ray already noticed that the professor spent a lot of time thinking before speaking. It was a trait that he could only expect from someone who spent their entire career studying.

"I've got an idea, cousin," Kukui finally stated after some thought. "And I think you might be open to it."

"Anything, professor," Ray nodded confidently. He truly was willing to do _anything _to repay the professor. It had been his dream to embark on his very own island challenge.

"Lillie here has been paying my wife and I back for our hospitality by assisting us in our research, yeah," Kukui explained and glanced appreciatively towards the blonde girl, who had been silently reading her book throughout the duration of his conversation with Ray. She looked up from her reading and shot the professor a nervous smile in response. "She might not think much of her job, but she does a fantastic job of it, woo!"

"So you want me to be your second assistant?" Ray asked, trying to piece together Professor Kukui's proposition. He thought about it for a second and then began to smile, excited at the possibility of directly learning from Alola's most renowned Pokémon professor. "Yeah, I could get behind that."

"Oh no, not a second assistant," Kukui corrected the teenager, flashing his signature smirk. "I want you to be my _courier_."

"A-a courier?" Ray asked, trying to make sure he heard the professor correctly.

_He wants me to be his DELIVERY MAN? Is this a joke?_

_Well... actually I guess it's fair. I do owe the professor a lot. And I did say that I would do anything._

"Precisely, cousin," Kukui nodded. "Now, before you start feeling like the job of a courier is 'below' you, I should let you know that I'm not going to have you make basic deliveries to random people."

"Then what am I gonna be doing?"

"I've got a lot of deliveries to important trainers in Alola such as trial captains and kahunas," Kukui explained to the teenager, who was now looking at him with curious eyes. "They range from simple Poké Balls to tools and then even to full-on Pokémon."

Ray sat and pondered at the types of deliveries the professor would have him make. Since he was going to be delivering items to some of the more important trainers, he was curious at what they could possibly want from the professor. The mention of full-on Pokémon intrigued him the most. Would he be delivering Totem Pokémon? Or maybe items that gave them their powers?

"So... what exactly am I going to be delivering?" Ray finally asked. "This sounds pretty interesting, to be honest."

"Well, first off we have a delivery for Samson Oak, one of the generous men who helped develop that PokéDex you've got on you, yeah," Kukui informed Ray, giving him his first task as the professor's courier before continuing his explanation. "I've been raising three starter Pokémon to give to new trainers, and one of them, Popplio, has gone unclaimed. I _would _have given her to you, but it looks like you've already got a trusty Bagon with you, yeah!"

"So what does Samson Oak have to do with this?" Ray asked. It was strange that a professor of all people would need to raise a spare starter Pokémon.

"That would be _Professor _Oak to you, cousin," Kukui snapped at Ray with a frown.

"Yes, sorry, _Professor _Oak," Ray corrected himself. "Anyways, what does he want to do with the third starter Pokémon?"

"Well, he brought three of his cousin's Pokémon to raise in Alola. And I mean his _actual _cousin," Kukui sighed. There was a sympathetic look on his face. "Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, yeah. But that nasty Team Skull mugged him yesterday and poached the Fire-type Charmander and the Water-type Squirtle, thankfully he managed to save Bulbasaur. He was going to take them back to Kanto after raising them to give to new trainers, but now he's out of a Fire and Water-type. I don't have a Fire-type on hand, so I'm gonna need you to deliver the Water-type Popplio to him with a Quick Attack! Just until he can find his other Pokémon, at least."

"That sounds easy enough," Ray nodded. "Where should I find him?"

"He'll be in Hau'oli City," Kukui answered. He immediately shook his head afterwards. "But I don't know where exactly. I'll send an alert on your PokéDex when I find out, yeah."

"Sounds good to me."

Professor Kukui immediately stood up from his seat at the table. "I'm going to run downstairs and grab Popplio's Poké Ball with my Agility! You just sit tight for a moment, cousin."

Ray watched as the professor headed to the back of the lab and down a flight of stairs. He had never had any run-ins with Team Skull before, but lots of people he knew did. Sometimes they'd steal their money, belongings, or Pokémon, but they were pretty weak when confronted about it. They never actually caused any _real _trouble. But in this case, their thievery could ruin some of an esteemed professor's research, and Ray wouldn't sit idly for that.

That being said, he was now left alone with Lillie. And as he found out before, she didn't really like to speak much. So Ray braced himself for yet another awkward silence.

However, just as he was prepared to wait silently for the professor, Lillie looked up from her book and spoke for the first time since he had been sitting at the dining table. "Really... thank you..." Lillie finally uttered soft words after listening to the conversation between Ray and the professor for so long. She turned her head to face the boy sitting next to her. "Even Nebby... it is asleep in the loft... but it really appreciates your bravery last night. I do not know what I would have done if you... were not there for it..."

"Well..." Ray began and saw the blonde girl looking towards him. Out of all the times she thanked Ray, _this _was the first one where he felt genuinely appreciated. However, there was _still _something weird about her. Was it her obviously expensive attire? Maybe her formality? The robotic-ness of her voice?

As he turned to face her, he realized that this was the first time he actually got a good look at her. Even though he could make her features out yesterday, it was nothing like seeing her in the daylight. It was almost like she was a brand new person.

_She's... she's actually kinda pretty!_

Her emerald eyes gazed appreciatively at him, the bright sunlight flooding in through the lab's windows reflected off of them like they were actual gemstones. Ray could have even sworn that he faintly saw his reflection in her shining eyes. Her long, glimmering blonde hair was intricately fashioned as it let loose behind her head, with two braided locks falling beside each ear. Her hair must have taken at least hours to style!

"Really, it was honestly nothing," Ray grinned after he realized he had been sucked into her sparkling green eyes for far too long. "Like I said, any trainer would have done the same."

"Also... there is something else..." Lillie turned her head away from him, looking a little downcast.

"What's the matter?"

"I think we... got off on the wrong foot yesterday..." she admitted. "I got the feeling that you were not really... fond of me. I feel bad..."

"I..." Ray didn't know how to respond to that. She was right, something about her just ticked him off yesterday. But in the darkness of the night Ray couldn't tell whether she was sketchy or just helpless. Now that he could see her clearly, he could tell that she was more on the helpless side. "I'll be honest, you're kinda right."

"Oh..."

"_But!_" Ray continued when he saw her sulk. Even though Lillie said she felt bad, _Ray _was the one who actually felt bad. She didn't really seem like she was all that bad, she just had the unfortunate luck of meeting his impatient side last night. "You took me to see the professor. I got my island challenge amulet. He gave me a PokéDex and he's given me a pretty cool job. That all happened because you vouched for me, and that means a lot."

"Um..."

"So yes, I'll be honest and say that I wasn't too thrilled to be sidetracked all night yesterday," Ray admitted. "But you've more than made up for it. I truly mean it when I said it was no problem to help you. And hopefully the next time we see each other I won't be in a rush or anything."

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

Ray and Lillie audibly gasped in reaction to the loud curse. They turned around, mouths agape, to face the open basement door where the shout came from. The voice was undeniably Professor Kukui's echoing all the way from the basement. But what on earth could have caused such a reaction from him? The professor seemed relatively calm in the short time that Ray had met him.

Before either of them could respond, Professor Kukui flew up the stairs with a letter in hand, his face redder than a Scizor. Ray looked at the angry expression on the professor's face and then looked over to Lillie, who appeared absolutely horrified. It was clear she had never seen the professor get this angry before.

"Those fucking rats!" Professor Kukui bellowed and slammed the letter on the dining table.

"Who?" Ray asked and took a peak at the letter in front of him.

"_We got ur precious pathetic p__okémon yo and there aint nothin u can do bout it! come to the marina if u realy wanna try goin against us yo," _Ray read the horrible, almost illegible purple handwriting aloud, but he noticed a very familiar insignia at the top of it: the infamous S-shaped skull.

"Team Skull..." Ray muttered softly as he placed the letter back down. "It was Team Skull, right? They stole one of your Pokémon!"

"Not just any Pokémon, cousin," Kukui grumbled, his face only getting redder with time. "It was the Pokémon I was gonna have you deliver to Professor Oak. The third starter Pokémon that went unpicked, Popplio. They must have snuck through the back and slipped out with Minimize, yeah."

Ray instinctively got up from his seat and glanced at both Lillie and the professor, the former looking worried and the latter looking livid. "I'm going to the marina. I'm going to get that Pokémon back. I don't care if neither of you want to come, but it's the thanks I owe you for giving me a PokéDex and an amulet."

And without another word, he had sprinted out the front door and towards Hau'oli City.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Thanks everyone for reading! I've recently been reading **BraviaryScout's** Alolan story "**A Hui Hou Kakou**" (which I very **very **strongly recommend, his level of detail and worldbuilding is out of this world) and he actually includes a Hawaiian translator at the bottom of each chapter! Since I like to throw Hawaiian words and terminology into my story here and there, I thought it would be fair to my readers that I included one as well (since I'm sure most of you are like me and don't actually speak Hawaiian)._

_Seriously though, if you haven't checked out "A Hui Hou Kakou" already, you need to go do that as soon as possible. It's an absolutely fantastic story. Especially if you're a Sun/Elio x Lillie shipper. I'm currently addicted to it._

**_Translations (only one for this chapter):_**

_E kala mai iaʻu - Sorry_

**_Thanks so much for reading! I always appreciate it :)_**


	6. Interlude I: The Thief

**_A/N: _**_So like I promised, here's a short interlude chapter for an extra chapter this week as thanks for being patient with me :)_

_I was always planning on releasing this chapter in the future, but it didn't matter when exactly it was released as long as it came sometime after the last chapter. So like I said, I'm going to upload this now as a freebie :) hope you all enjoy!_

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _****_Pokémon nor do I own any of their characters. This is merely a fan story written using the template Game Freak has provided with Pokémon._**

**_Rated T for: Mild adult language, violence, and drug usage_**

* * *

**INTERLUDE I**

**THE THIEF**

_This rain... this melancholy it brings... I feel it. I am one with it._

Clutching a Poké Ball in hand, the boy moved quietly in the heavy rain. His clothes were drenched from head to toe by the torrent that never seemed to stop pouring on the northernmost jungles of Ula'ula Island, but that didn't matter to him. All that mattered was the shiny new Poké Ball in his hands, slippery with wetness from the rain.

For completing this job, the boss would surely give him a nice sum of money. Maybe it would be enough for him to afford better living accommodations instead of the cheap shabby motels he had to stay at when completing jobs. They were always run-down and populated with the types of people that disgusted him; dirt poor, drug-addicted lowlifes. He was thankful for growing up in an environment where he never had to deal with people like them, but now he was around them constantly and he hated the fact that every night he spent was near them.

Tired of the sogginess of his clothes, he took refuge under the large foliage of a palm tree to wait out the thick of the rain. Looking up, he saw the dark grey thunderclouds covering every mile of the sky. It didn't look like the rain would slow down any time soon. Still, it gave him a good break to rest his tired bones.

_I can't remember the last time I was able to relax like this. Every day it's something new. Either the job I'm doing takes up most of my effort or the motel I'm staying at gets raided by the authorities. I've never had a quiet moment to myself like this. This... this is nice._

As the boy sat on the dense, muddy grass, he observed the new Poké Ball in his hand. Supposedly it contained a rare Pokémon that couldn't be found anywhere in Alola, but since he never bothered to let it out of the ball, he didn't know what type of Pokémon could possibly have dwelled within it. The boss told him that if he were to successfully steal it, he would get to keep it. All the boss cared about was the fact that it was out of its original trainer's hands.

He took a deep breath and looked at the dense jungle around him. Getting all the way to Ula'ula Island from Melemele Island was no easy feat, especially since he didn't have any Pokémon that he could fly with. It took a lot of persuasion to get Snag to lend him his prized Skarmory for the trip, but he was glad he finally talked him into it. Using Skarmory, he could have easily flown directly to the base, but he wanted to go on a lonely walk to recollect his thoughts and instead flew to the jungles south of the base. It was more peaceful that way.

Each second spent looking at the mysterious Poké Ball reminded him of the ordeal he went through to steal it. It wasn't an easy feat, but he boasted a perfect success rate. There was no job that he couldn't complete. Thievery just came natural to him.

* * *

_"Your Pokémon are ours now, old man." he stated in a flat-tone, holding two Poké Balls in his hands. Readjusting his black bandana facemask, he glanced towards his taller partner next to him with a smirk before looking back to the old man. "If only you weren't such a weak trainer, you could have protected them."_

_"Weak!?" the old man growled. "You slipped into my back pocket and took those Pokémon like a coward! If you thought I was so weak, then why didn't you challenge me to a battle like a true trainer? Instead, you relied on dirty tactics. It has nothing to do with your strength or my weakness!"_

_"Shut yer yap, geezer," the taller man standing next to the boy jeered. Even though the man's face was hidden behind his black hood and bandana facemask, the glare in his red eyes indicated that he was scowling ferociously. "Yer down to one Pokémon now. My partner and I swiped two of yers, and we still 'ave our trusty partner Pokémon. Yer outnumbered, ya old coop. Just turn 'round and go runnin' home. Ya can't do nothin' 'bout it."_

_"You two will pay..." the old man grumbled and turned his back to the pair of thieves. "One day, Team Skull won't know what hit them. It's only a matter of time until one of the island challengers grows too powerful for you all to deal with, and they burn your sad, pathetic band of hooligans down to the ground."  
_

_"I'm gladly waitin' for the day!" the taller man laughed loudly. He continued laughing as the old man slogged away down the deserted streets of Hau'oli City in defeat, disappearing into the pitch black of midnight. "There ain't nobody on these islands who're stronger than the boss. I'll give that to ya in writin'!"_

_"Cool it, Snag," the boy warned his taller partner. "We've completed our mission. This guy isn't really someone to mess with, let's get back to the boss before the cops get involved."_

_Together, the boy and Snag were the two most skilled thieves in the entirety of Team Skull. The boss would routinely send them together on the most high-profile missions, and this was one of them. They were tasked with stealing three rare __Pokémon from a relative of one of the world's most respected __Pokémon professors. It wasn't a mission that any ordinary member of Team Skull could do, so the boss wanted his best two thieves on the case._

_However, the boy wasn't very fond of Snag... at all. __In fact, he wasn't very fond of anyone in Team Skull._

_"Yer right, Merc," Snag nodded with a sigh. "But I still 'ave somethin' else to do, remember?"_

_"Yeah, you've gotta hit Professor Kukui's lab," Merc remembered. He looked at the two __Poké Balls in his hands and tossed one of them to his partner._

_"Aren't ya' goin' ta take them to the boss?" Snag asked as he caught the __Poké Ball Merc threw at him._

_"I feel like you might need one of them, at least," Merc answered. "Besides, I really don't want to take the boat back to the base. I was wondering if I could borrow your Skarmory. So you could use the extra power."_

_"Lad, I don't even know what __Pokémon is in this ball." Snag's voice became irate at the suggestion of him loaning over his trusty Skarmory._

_"You can hit Kukui's lab in the morning," Merc shrugged. "Why don't you take some time to get familiar with the __Pokémon in there? Who knows, maybe it's more powerful than your Skarmory."_

* * *

Merc sighed as he let the memory of the robbery finish in his mind again. He knew what he did made him a bad person, but to him all that mattered was the boss's money. The money that let him stay in Alola and away from home. The money that kept his belly full when it rumbled. The money that let him train his precious partner Pokémon, his best friends.

The people in Team Skull were neither his friends nor his family. Not Snag, not the big sister, and _definitely_ not the boss. He wasn't even sure that anyone besides the boss knew what his real name was. They always called him "mercenary", or "Merc" for short, because that's all he was: an unloyal hired hand. Nobody in Team Skull really considered him a "true member", nor did he care enough to be one. All he cared about was keeping his skills as a trainer fresh so he could continue to earn money by being their strong-arm.

When he grew strong enough, he wouldn't need to rely on Team Skull anymore.

_To them I'm just a tool to use when they can't do a job. Those pathetic thugs are like Wishiwashi; completely useless when they're on their own. One day I'll show them that I'm far better than any of them._

Merc closed his eyes and breathed deeply, letting the sound of the rainfall onto the jungle soothe his spirits. He figured the rain wouldn't slow down anytime soon, so it would be best to continue his trek as soon as possible. Feeling satisfied with the short break he took, he stood up and looked towards the horizon, spotting the fortified walls of Team Skull's base in the distance.

_It's probably another half-hour of walking time there, I might as well continue then._

Before he moved out from under the large palm leaves providing him shelter from the storm, he took one last look at the Poké Ball in his hand. He almost forgot that he _still _didn't know what kind of Pokémon was within. The boss told him that the man they robbed had three rare Pokémon with him, and that he would get to keep whatever he stole from him for himself. What kind of Pokémon could have possibly been in that Poké Ball?

_I wonder what's inside..._

Merc tossed the Poké Ball in the air and covered his eyes at the abrupt turquoise flash it emitted. There was a soft cry and a Pokémon fell to the ground. Its eyes were full of fear and anticipation, but Merc was determined to help it trust him more. Merc had never seen any Pokémon like it in his life. It was small, but it looked like it could pack some power if he raised it right.

At first, Merc was shocked at seeing such a foreign Pokémon for the first time. The boss mentioned that the Pokémon the old man had weren't native to Alola, so it only made sense that Merc had never seen anything like it in his life. With a smirk, he began to walk towards the fortified walls of Team Skull's base. The Pokémon stood in place, carefully watching Merc with its nervous eyes as the rain began to drench it.

"What's the matter?" Merc turned around and asked the new Pokémon. "Do I scare you?"

The Pokémon didn't make any movement, nor did it utter a sound. Merc sighed at the thought of having to make this new Pokémon trust him, but that was a challenge he was willing to accept. He kneeled on the ground and pulled out a wet plastic bag from his pocket.

"These are potato chips," Merc told the Pokémon, who now slowly approached the trainer. He ripped open the bag and handed the Pokémon a chip, which it gladly munched on. "You like it, yeah?"

The Pokémon smiled and made a weird noise, but Merc couldn't tell through the sound of the pouring rain whether it was a happy cry or a sad whine. Carefully, he repeatedly handed the Pokémon chips until the bag was finished. Merc crumped it up and placed it in his pocket with a smirk. This Pokémon was already starting to trust him.

"There are a few people who want to see you," Merc stated as he stood up again. "Do you wanna see them?"

The Pokémon didn't know how to respond, instead it just waddled over to Merc's side. The boy smirked and resumed his walk to the fortress base.

"Hmm..." he muttered as he watched the unfamiliar Pokémon closely trail him. "I guess I'll call you... Blually."

* * *

_**A/N:** Thanks so much for reading! As always, let me know what you liked/didn't like in the form of a PM or a review. I always **always** appreciate the feedback, good or bad._

_Anyways, who do you guys think "Merc" is (if you've played SM/USUM then you probably already know)? And what Pokémon do you think was in his Poké Ball? Find out in the future :)_


	7. 5: Snagging From Snag

_**A/N: **So... uhh... it's been a while, huh?_

_Okay, so a little bit of backstory on what happened with this chapter and why it took so long. I had originally written this chapter in a certain way per what my outline said, but the more I looked at it the more I noticed some glaring mistakes and an overall lack of "identity" I guess. Part of the reason for this was the fact that there is a pretty major event that happens in this chapter that doesn't actually happen in the games, and I needed to create an original plot point to handle it. Since it's such a significant event it needed to be handled **perfectly**. Re-reading this chapter a few times, I realized that it was the farthest thing from perfect, or even good at all._

_I kinda broke my head over what to do with this chapter especially since I already had the next two fully written (but not proofread). The whole thing just didn't feel "right" and as much as it killed me to do, I had to start it over. That meant re-writing not just this chapter, but the two chapters that follow this as well. Like, I re-wrote them all completely from scratch. Just 100% erased everything I had before and re-built it from the ground up. It really really stung to have to do that, but what I had before just simply didn't feel... organic._

_As an author, I'm not really sure I should have said any of the above to my readers, but with such a long delay I felt like you all deserved an honest explanation. But here we are, and I've finally been able to write it in a way that I think does the characters justice :)_

_On another note, in the coming chapters, we'll start to see a few more __Pokémon additions to the main characters' teams. Since that's coming soon, I figured this would be a good time to say that **I have already decided on the final teams for each character** and I'm not really taking any sort of requests. Just saying this in case someone drops a request the reviews or complains about a Pokémon that a character obtains (which I'm not expecting to happen, but I've seen it happen to a few fics already so I thought I'd just state this as a result)._

_Additionally: I recently ran through both Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon playing as both Ailey and Ray using their planned teams for this story. Wow were those two playthroughs some of the most fun I've had running through __the Alola region__! Ailey's team was very **very **fun to use and got strong really quickly (seriously, her team is the one that I'm most excited to finalize). Ray's team, on the other hand, was fun to use closer to the end of the game, but they were very hard to raise during the main story. And you will start to see that more as Ray develops farther into the story :)_

_Okay, that's more than enough of me rambling. Let's get on with the show!_

**_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _****_Pokémon nor do I own any of their characters. This is merely a fan story written using the template Game Freak has provided with Pokémon._**

**_Rated T for: Mild adult language, violence, and drug usage_**

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**SNAGGING FROM SNAG**

"So, which direction is the marina?"

Neither Hau nor Ilima paid any attention to Ailey's question as they walked in front of her through the beachfront streets of Hau'oli City, carefully looking side-to-side to spot any suspicious activity nearby. Samson Oak had told them that Team Skull was near the marina, but by now they could have easily dispersed into the large crowds of people. There was no way to know exactly where they were at this point, so if the trio wanted to spot them, they would have to look _everywhere_.

"_Ahem..._" the blonde girl cleared her throat loud enough for Hau and Ilima to hear through the loud sounds of the active city. Even Singe on her shoulder purred loudly to make the two trainers take notice of her. She was now getting worked up over the fact that the two boys ignored her earlier. "Once again... which direction is the marina?"

"Come on, Ailey. We were just near there earlier," Hau snapped at her without looking back, his cheerful demeanor now replaced with one of apprehension. The Rowlet on his shoulder looked back and reflected a similar expression of nervousness. "You don't remember?"

"Seriously, dude?" Ailey growled back. "This is literally my first time in the city without my mom. You think I'm really gonna remember where everything is?"

"Ah, so your name is Ailey?" Ilima asked. "Now that I think about it, I never did get either of your names."

Ailey looked towards pink-haired boy, who continued to look ahead without caring to look back at her. The boy vainly ran his fingers through his hair as he walked, showing no concern about Team Skull's presence.

_This fool is really playing with his HAIR!? At a time like this?_

"Yeah, I'm Ailey. And the other guy is Hau, you better not get on his bad side because he's the grandson of Kahuna Hala. And besides, why do you look so damn relaxed?" She asked the pretentious trial captain. Ilima didn't even seem to flinch at the mention of Hala's name, the kahuna of all people! She couldn't believe how self-absorbed the boy appeared to be. "You're not even moving with any urgency. Who knows what Team Skull could be doing with the stolen Pokémon?"

"Team Skull?" Ilima laughed at their mention and ran his fingers through his pink hair again. "They're nothing more than numbskull crooks. This isn't the first time I've encountered them, and it certainly won't be the last either."

"So? You could at least show some care towards the Pokémon that were stolen."

"Mrowr!" Singe purred in agreement.

"Oh please..." Ilima scoffed, waving his hand to dismiss Ailey's concerns. "Those fools can't train Pokémon if their lives depended on it. Samson's Pokémon are weak anyways, Team Skull will probably think they're useless. If we can't find them, they'll run crying back to him _begging _him to take his Pokémon back. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"_Weak?_" Ailey hissed at the nerve of Ilima to call a Pokémon weak. "What do you mean by 'weak'?"

"Mrowr..."

"They're young. Freshly trained." Ilima shrugged. "Team Skull possibly can't want anything to do with them. You don't need to get so fussy over them."

"What kind of a trial captain thinks of Pokémon as weak or strong?"

"The kind of trial captain that's in charge of making sure you pass your trial without error," Ilima stated flatly, finally turning back to meet the girl's ferocious gaze.

Instead of fighting back, Ailey grunted and kept her mouth shut. Ilima was right, if she wanted to take on his trial she would have to avoid drawing his ire. But that still didn't change the fact that she didn't think too kindly of him. If anything, his pretentious and lack of urgency made her hate him _more_.

Before Ailey had time to respond, she felt her arm lock into something from behind. In an instant, the city's scenery around her blurred and she was thrown forward into Hau and Ilima as the three trainers were knocked onto their butts.

"Oops!"

An unfamiliar male's voice shouted in apology as the trio tried to recollect themselves on the pavement. Rowlet and Singe were also knocked off their trainers' shoulders and onto the sidewalk next to them. Before Ailey could spot the person who had knocked her over and give them one of her signature beratements, he had already taken off.

"Who the hell did that guy think he was?" Ailey asked, helping Singe climb back onto her shoulder. She tried to get a good look on him as he ran further away from them, but the brightness of the afternoon sun reduced him into nothing more than a shrinking silhouette.

"Rude!" Ilima shouted in the direction of the running trainer as he finally stood up, wiping dirt from the pavement off of his clothes. He flipped his hair and quickly styled it with his fingers before snarling. "This outfit is expensive! And my hair takes hours to style! How dare you get me dirtied up?"

But there was no response as the dark silhouette of the trainer finally disappeared into the horizon.

Once Ailey, Hau, and Ilima finally stood up, they continued their slow walk down the Hau'oli City street. For all they knew, that boy could have been one of the Team Skull thugs who poached Oak's Pokémon and they just let him off the hook.

"Think that loser was from Team Skull?" Ailey asked, almost spitting the organization's name out of her mouth with disgust.

"Didn't sound like it," Hau shook his head and let Rowlet perch back onto his shoulder. "If that was a Team Skull person he would have laughed and started rapping in our faces. He was probably just some careless random trainer."

"Koo!"

"Well, if I ever find him again I'm going to beat him up into a pulp," Ailey muttered with clenched fists. "There's nobody - and I mean _nobody _\- in this world that can just knock Ailey Selene to the ground and then run off without a fight."

"Mrowr!" Singe agreed on her shoulder.

She couldn't believe the utter _audacity _of a random person to rudely run into her and not stay back to apologize. Hadn't he learned any manners?

"Let's not get carried away you _newcomers_," Ilima scolded them. "We're near the marina. Let's keep going."

Ailey wanted to protest at Ilima's repeated reminder that they were just "newcomers". Every time he said it, it almost sounded like an insult. As if Ilima wasn't a "newcomer" at one point himself! She hadn't known him for more than a half hour but she already couldn't wait to pulverize his trial and never have to see him again.

_Maybe Team Skull can knock some sense into that snobby, entitled, jerkface, pink-haired BRAT. Right after I rough them up first, of course... and maybe that rude, stupid trainer who ran me over also..._

"So, once we get there, what do we do?" Ailey asked Ilima, trying her best to bury her frustration. "We need some sort of plan."

"Of course, _Captain _Ilima has just the plan for you!" Ilima nodded with a grin and shot her a thumbs-up. "The marina isn't very big. We can all split up and search around, one of us is bound to find a thief."

"So you're saying... whoever finds Team Skull first should battle them alone?" Ailey asked skeptically. Ilima couldn't have possibly expected a pair of newbies to be caught alone with Team Skull of all people. "Are you trying to get us killed or something?"

"Mrowr!" Singe angrily agreed.

"Got a better idea?" Ilima frowned at her skepticism.

"I..." Ailey sighed before shaking her head. "Not really, no..."

"Mrowr..."

"And besides, I never said we should _take on _Team Skull alone," Ilima corrected her. "If we go in as a group of three, especially with a well-known _trial captain_ like me leading the charge, then it will raise some flags and Team Skull will flee. If we split up, then they won't know a group is looking for them. Whoever finds them first should give a shout and we'll all re-group. Sound fair to you?"

"I guess..." Ailey sighed in defeat. She hated having to agree with him, but what he said made sense.

Crossing her arms, Ailey just continued to trail the pair of boys through the city streets and towards the marina. Hopefully Ilima's "plan" didn't get any of them killed or anything. Her mom would be utterly devastated if something disastrous happened.

_Especially after what happened to dad._

* * *

There was only one thought in Ray's head as he sprinted as fast as he could through the bustling streets of Hau'oli City: save Kukui's Popplio (and the other Pokémon, of course). He paid no attention to the city's residents or tourists that looked at the rushing teenager with puzzled eyes. The professor was generous enough to give him an island challenge amulet in addition to a PokéDex in return for his service as a courier, and he wanted to prove to the professor that he was more than capable for the task. Not to mention if he kept in the professor's good graces for enough time, then maybe the professor would even help him on his island challenge.

Additionally, Ray couldn't let that dastardly group Team Skull continue to cause trouble on his home island of Melemele. While he had never ran into them himself, he heard far too many stories of them stealing innocent trainers' Pokémon. Now was his chance to show them that if they continued their mischief, they'd meet the wrath of a sizzling Ember from Fafnir.

The bright afternoon sun hung high over Hau'oli City and pressed its vicious heat onto Ray. Thankfully, his light-blue tanktop gave his skin room to breathe and his red bucket hat prevented the sun from burning out his eyes. Still, he didn't let the boggy, humid air slow him down. He had been running as fast as he could through Melemele Island for over half-an-hour now. If he let the heat slow him down then he wouldn't make it to the marina in time to confront Team Skull.

"Can't... stop... now..." Ray panted to himself as he kept his speedy pace up. In the distance he spotted unmanned boats resting on the calm waters of Hau'oli City and he knew the marina was close by. "Almost... there..."

For a while he did a good job of avoiding slamming into innocent tourists and residents. However, in the distance he could spot a group of three trainers that seemed to just take up the entire sidewalk. A blonde girl in a straw hat was in the back trailing behind two boys and they were directly in his path. There was a black Pokémon on the shoulder of the blonde girl and a green one on the shoulder of one of the boys. He wouldn't be able to slow down in time to avoid running them over!

_Why do these guys have to take up the entire damn sidewalk?_ Ray thought to himself. _They're gonna get mowed over!_

Ray braced for impact as he ran through the group. He was hoping to weave directly in between them but his elbow accidentally got caught with the girl who was in the back of the group. As he powered his legs forward, her elbow flew forward with him and he ended up inadvertently throwing her into the two boys that were in front of her.

"Oops!" Ray blurted as he ran through them, knocking all three of them to the ground.

Without saying another word, he continued to take off in the direction of the marina. He heard them shout things at him from the distance, but he was too far ahead of them to make out what they were saying. Nor did he really care what they thought. The only thing on his mind was saving the professor's Popplio.

Still bolting as fast as he could, he started to notice the blur of people he passed were no longer residents or tourists. All were burly men wearing white shirts and pants and Ray realized they were all sailors. Quickly glancing around as he ran, he realized that the crowded beachfront directly to his side was now replaced with an endless mass of docked boats and a large ferry terminal in the distance. He was at the marina.

_CRASH!_

Ray stumbled as he tried to stay on his feet but the momentum was far too great and he dove straight into the pavement. Groaning, he looked down at his arms and legs to see if he could spot any new cuts and bruises. There was a fresh cut on his right elbow that stung when he touched it.

_I just cleaned my wounds from being dropped by Tapu Koko last night... now this?_

"C'mon laddie..." a deep voice grumbled from near Ray. The boy tilted his head up and saw a man in a black outfit lying on the pavement next to him. "Ya ain't watchin' where yer runnin'?"

"Sorry... sir..." Ray panted as he stood up, now growing fatigued that his running momentum came to a halt. He extended an arm for the man to grab. "I just... I just... _man _am I tired..."

"Thanks, laddie," the man nodded and grabbed Ray's arm, propelling himself upwards. The man wiped some dust off of his outfit and glowered down at the boy.

The first thing Ray noticed was just how _tall _this man was. He appeared like he was at least a good foot taller than Ray. As Ray met his gaze, he saw that the man's face was covered by a black bandana facemask with a shadow from his black hood darkening everything else. In fact, the man was dressed entirely in black from head to toe; from his black boots to his black pants to his black hoodie. The only part of him that Ray could see clearly was his blazing red eyes.

And then, Ray saw it on his chest...

...The S-shaped skull.

"You're... you're..." Ray panted. "_Whoo _that run took out my energy..." he muttered to himself, trying to catch his breath. "_Y__ou're from Team Skull!_"

"Ya got a problem with that, laddie?" The man asked in a low, intimidating voice, realizing that Ray saw him as trouble.

"I have... have a lot of problems... problems with that..." Ray wheezed at the man and unclipped Fafnir's Poké Ball from his trainer belt.

The man spotted the Poké Ball in Ray's hand. "Ah, so ya want a battle?"

"More... more than a battle..." Ray answered in broken words. There was a distinct lack of confidence in his voice, however. He knew the only way to get Charmander back was through battle, but he still hadn't been in a real one before. Much less one against Team Skull. "You stole... multiple Pokémon. I want those... those Pokémon back. Popplio... and the others..."

"Well, I don't recall stealin' a Pokémon from _ya_," the man shrugged. "Ya ain't Kukui and ya sure as hell ain't Samson. Why would I give ya any o' the Pokémon I stole if ya ain't the original trainer?"

"So... so you _did _steal... the Pokémon."

"And? What're ya goin' ta do 'bout it?"

"I work for one of the original trainer's." Ray stated sternly, finally able to finish a sentence without having to wheeze in between words. "I'm Professor Kukui's courier and your thievery got in the way of my first delivery. I'm going to take those Pokémon back!"

The man couldn't hold back his laughter and it sounded like Ray had told him the funniest thing he'd heard in his entire life. "Yer a _delivery man_!? Oh no, I am _soooo _scared, laddie! Har-har-har!"

"What's so funny? I'll have you know I'm on my island challenge!"

Ray hoped that mentioning the island challenge would intimidate the Team Skull member a little. After all, island challengers grew to be some of the most fearsome trainers in Alola. That would have made the thief step back, right?"

Wrong. Ray saw the slightest hint of a frown on the tall man's face.

_"Island challenge!? _Yer nothin' but a wimpy landlubber," the man growled, his blood-red eyes shining with rage. "The name's Snag, I'm the most ruthless thief in the history o' Team Skull. Ain't a single weakling on their _island challenge _that can take me. Ya don't want ta get on my bad side, ya hear?"

"Well, you're on _my _bad side."

"If it's a battle ya want..." Snag grumbled and pulled a Poké Ball out of his pant pocket. "Then it's a battle ya got!"

"Fafnir, come on out!" Ray shouted and launched his Bagon's Poké Ball in the air. There was a bright flash of turquoise and the small blue Dragon-type landed on the ground in front of his trainer.

"Grr..."

Snag went back to his deep laughter at the sight of Ray's small Pokémon. The Bagon could hardly stand on its stubby legs, and its stubby arms were far from intimidating. Even though its eyes were slanted in a frown, it looked more funny than scary. _This _was the Pokémon Ray was going to use to rough up one of Team Skull's premier thieves?

"Ah, a wee lil' Bagon, eh?" Snag jeered at Ray's small Pokémon. "He don't scare me!"

"He's more than 'little'..." Ray stomped his foot at that. Fafnir was his most loyal companion. "He's my partner and he's far stronger than you think."

"Well, we'll see 'bout that, laddie!" The man exclaimed and threw his Poké Ball in the air. "Charmander, show this landlubber what ya got!"

There was another bright flash and a small orange Pokémon with a flame on its tail took form across from Fafnir. It appeared to be almost the same size as Fafnir, but the fierce glare in its eyes proved that it had been trained more. It growled apprehensively in front of Snag.

"Charmander..." Ray said under his breath. He had never seen anything like it in his life, but for some reason its name sounded familiar...

_Where have I heard the name "Charmander" before?_

Ray grabbed the PokéDex from his shorts pocket and pulled it out, hoping to get a clue. Quickly, he let the device scan the Pokémon Snag had sent out.

_"Scanned! Charmander the Lizard Pokémon. Type: Fire. The flame that burns at the tip of its tail is an indication of its emotions. The flame wavers when Charmander is enjoying itself. If the Pokémon becomes enraged, the flame burns fiercely. It has a preference for hot things. When it rains, steam is said to spout from the tip of its tail. Charmander must be registered before additional information can be processed."_

Ray stowed his PokéDex back into his pocket when Dexter was finished spitting out Charmander's analysis. He looked to the flame on Charmander's tail and noticed the ember was burning ferociously. If Dexter's analysis was accurate, then that Charmander was angry. _Furious_, even!

"Wait a minute..." Ray muttered to himself. Kukui _had _mentioned Charmander's name before!

_"Well, he brought three of his cousin's Pokémon to raise in Alola. And I mean his actual cousin," Kukui sighed. There was a sympathetic look on his face. "Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, yeah. But that nasty Team Skull mugged him yesterday and poached the Fire-type Charmander and the Water-type Squirtle, thankfully he managed to save Bulbasaur."_

Ray grimaced as the memory from earlier finished playing in his head. He was looking directly at one of the stolen Pokémon.

"That's the Pokémon you stole from Professor Oak!" Ray shouted at the Team Skull thief.

Snag just laughed it off.

"The lil' rascal's already grown trustin' of me," the thief sniggered. "I don't think it wants to go back to that scallywag Oak anymore!"

"So you have Popplio and Squirtle too, then?"

"Ahh, sorry to burst ya bubble, landlubber," Snag teasingly shrugged. "Those Pokémon are long gone. Given away fer the boss to deal with, ya know!"

"I need that Popplio back!" Ray growled behind clenched teeth. "And you're gonna tell me where it is!"

"Har-har-har!" Snag laughed deeply, clutching his stomach to keep his breath. "Ya ain't intimidatin' in the least, laddie! Ya sure as hell ain't strong enough ta take good ol' Charmander from me. What makes ya think ya can take the rest of 'em?"

Ray growled to himself at Snag's words. Maybe Snag was right, Ray had only _just _began his island challenge not more than an hour ago, he wasn't as seasoned of a trainer as he believed himself to be. Much less one that could take on the treachery of Team Skull.

And as much as it pained him to realize, that Charmander already looked ready to protect its new thief of a trainer. The flame on its tail burned viciously in the bright sunlight. It looked like it could pack a serious punch.

But he wasn't going to give up. He had a job to do and a generous professor to repay. Even if it burned him to the bone, he was going to bring the Charmander back.

"There you are!"

Ray turned around at the sound of a intense female's voice accompanied by hurried footsteps coming from behind him. Watching her run as fast as she could, he instantly recognized her.

It was the blonde girl he accidentally ran over earlier. And the black Pokémon on her shoulder was none other than a Litten.

_Wait... Professor Kukui's Litten? She's one of the new island challengers!_

There was a look of pure anger on her face.

_Oh great, she followed me because I mowed her down. Now I'm outnumbered two-to-one..._

"I recognize that Pokémon!" the blonde-haired girl shouted and stood next to Ray, her eyes focused on Charmander instead. "That's Charmander!"

He couldn't help but notice that the blonde girl had an island challenge amulet tied to her satchel. His thoughts were correct, this _was _one of the trainers that Professor Kukui sent on an island challenge. Much to his relief, it seemed like she came to the marina for Charmander instead of him.

_Phew... _Ray relaxed his tension. _I really thought for a second that she was here to kick my ass..._

Snag stared at the two trainers in panic. "Arrgh... so I'm outnumbered now..." he grumbled to himself.

Ray couldn't believe his luck. At first it appeared like he would be getting the butt-kicking of the century by taking on a Team Skull member as his first trainer battle, but now there was additional island challenger on his side. Snag was definitely on the wrong side of the battle.

All he could hope for now was that she forgot him running her over earlier...

"You're looking for Charmander, too?" Ray asked the girl, who seemed to completely ignore him in favor of saving Charmander. Professor Kukui had mentioned that Professor Oak's Pokémon were taken too, so it made sense that other people were looking for them.

"Not just me." The girl shook her head after answering. "There's a group of us looking for Team Skull."

_Oh, those other two trainers I accidentally ran over..._

"The name's Ailey," she introduced herself abruptly, still focused on the thief. "If we're going to fight on the same side, might as well get to know each other."

"I'm Ray and I'm Professor Kukui's courier," Ray responded with a nod. "I'm here because his Popplio was also stolen."

"Popplio was taken too!?" Ailey asked in a frenzy as she turned to Ray in disbelief. Ray noticed her blue eyes were filled with a demonic anger before she turned around again to face Snag. "You've definitely messed with the wrong people now!" she barked at him.

Even though this was her first encounter with Team Skull, she couldn't hold back her boiling rage. Just seeing how there was another trainer wanting to give Team Skull chase for the same crime was all she needed to know for confirmation that they were nothing but trouble. And now Professor Kukui's own Pokémon was caught up in this. The same one that had gone unpicked by her and Hau!

Still though, for some reason Ray's voice was eerily familiar to Ailey...

"Yer never gonna get me Charmander! I'm expectin' a nice pay-day fer it!" Snag growled and held up his fists in a fighting stance. "I'll take the both of ya!"

"You don't look all that tough. Singe, get him!" Ailey commanded her Pokémon as it hopped off her shoulder and in front of her. Team Skull didn't scare her, and the fact that this particular thief was using Samson's Charmander made him even _less _intimidating.

"You really think you can take us on now?" Ray asked as both trainers stood opposite of Snag, their Pokémon in front of them. "It's two against one. You can't win."

Snag looked nervously at the two trainers who now stood confidently across the pavement from him. Bagon would have been easy to take on by himself, but now there was a Litten to deal with. He hadn't spent enough time with Charmander to take on two Pokémon just yet.

"Charmander, Ember!" Snag commanded. "Hit all three of 'em!"

Ray and Ailey both nodded confidently at each other before looking to their Pokémon.

Ray looked towards Fafnir apprehensively. He was glad he wouldn't have to fight Team Skull on his own, but he didn't want to appear weak in front of this other trainer. Especially since she had an island challenge amulet of her own.

He wasn't sure what move to use first. His PokéDex told him Fafnir knew Bite, Ember, Rage, and Leer, but none of those options would have been the greatest against a Fire-type like Charmander. He didn't want Fafnir to use Bite and get in close range with a Pokémon that could burn him, he didn't want to use Leer if Charmander's attention wasn't fixed on Fafnir, and Ember was _definitely _going to be useless against a Fire-type.

"Fafnir, build up your Rage!" Ray shouted after realizing it was his only option. With a Rage built up, Fafnir would be able to gain power with every second that passed. But it wouldn't be of much use immediately.

He once again glanced at Ailey and saw a fiery confidence in her expression. It was evident that the presence of Team Skull only flared up her desire to grow stronger. Unlike him, it looked like she already _knew _what moves she was going to use.

"Singe, latch onto Charmander with Bite! Don't let it get away!" Ailey instructed her Litten.

Charmander swung its tail in front of it from side-to-side and unleashed a storm of small fireballs from its flame at Fafnir and Singe. Singe was able to dodge through the fireballs and scurry towards Charmander, even managing to take some of them directly. Fafnir began growling in place as he built up his anger, glowing a fiery red with building power as the fireballs peppered his hide.

Singe lunged towards Charmander and hooked his powerful fangs on the fire lizard's arm, bringing it down to the ground with a loud thud. Singe's powerful Bite attack bought Fafnir some time to continue gaining power from the blazes of Charmander's Ember.

"Charmander, get up!" Snag shouted as he watched his new Pokémon tumble with Singe on top of it, still clutching its Poké Ball in his hand.

Ailey shook her head with a smirk. "Singe, keep Charmander in place!"

Singe purred with his teeth still buried deeply into Charmander's arm. The fire lizard tried to flail its arm around and smash it into the pavement but it still couldn't manage to shake the Litten off.

Ray watched in awe as Ailey and Snag quickly exchanged commands to their Pokémon. In one second, Snag would have Charmander shake off Litten with an Ember from its tail and in the next Ailey would command Litten to use Bite and latch back on. Their Pokémon wasted no time in following what they would say.

_That _was the true mark of a good Pokémon trainer. One that was naturally in sync with his or her Pokémon.

Ray looked to Fafnir who was still patiently trying to charge up its Rage. With Charmander distracted by Ailey's Litten, Fafnir's Rage served no purpose as there was nothing to bring it to its anger point.

Using Rage was a pointless strategy.

Realizing that neither him nor Fafnir were being useful, he quickly glanced at the girl next to him again. The first thing he noticed was the same distinct flash of _fire _in her eyes that he could tell was lacking in his. A desire within herself to go headfirst on the offense, no matter the cost, while Ray chose the cautious route instead.

And her Pokémon was fighting for her as well. Whenever Ailey's Litten latched onto Charmander, it did its best to stay clamped, resilient to not let go. It was confident in its trainer, and Ray needed Fafnir to be confident in him as well. If she truly was one of the new trainers that Kukui gave an island challenge amulet too, then she far surpassed any of the other new trainers that wandered near Ray's house over the cliffs of Kala'e Bay.

Sighing deeply, Ray gazed across the "battlefield" when his eyes suddenly locked onto the Poké Ball in Snag's hand. His jaw dropped as a thought struck his mind, but he would need the other trainer to cooperate.

_Charmander... stolen... PokéDex... registration... Poké Ball..._

If his thoughts were correct, then the duo wouldn't even need to defeat Charmander. All they would need to do was...

"Hold on..." he muttered quietly, barely loud enough for Ailey beside him to hear. "Fafnir, cool down your Rage!"

Fafnir nodded and dissolved the red glow surrounding its hide.

Ailey turned her head to the side and saw that Ray's gaze was fixated on the Poké Ball in Snag's hand.

"What's on your mind, dude?" Ailey asked her battling partner, forgetting he was even there for an instant.

"You have an island challenge amulet like me."

_Damn, that felt good to say._

"Which means you've probably received a PokéDex, right?"

"Yep." Ailey nodded in response.

"And you're familiar with the registration feature, right?"

Ailey nodded once again, this time silently trying to piece together Ray's idea.

"This guy isn't on his island challenge and he probably isn't on friendly terms with Professor Kukui." Ray's eyes were still locked onto Charmander's Poké Ball. "There's no way he has a PokéDex, which means he couldn't have registered that Charmander to his fingerprint."

"I think I get what you're saying!" Ailey stated as her mind reached an epiphany. She was impressed, this new guy was quick with his wit. If Charmander wasn't registered to Snag, then all they needed to get was... "They're both distracted by Singe. We don't have to defeat Charmander, we just need to get that Poké Ball out of his hands!"

"And then we can call it back and return it to Oak," Ray continued once he was sure Ailey understood his plan. "You in?"

Ailey silently nodded with a smirk and glanced towards Singe who was still latched onto Charmander's arm. Ray actually had a good idea, and she was all for it.

"Ya bilge rats ain't never gonna nab me Charmander!" Snag snapped at the pair of teenagers. They were foolish to speak loud enough for him to hear. "It's gonna get me a nice sum o' booty from the boss, ya hear!"

"We don't care, you thief!" Ailey spat at the Team Skull thug. "That Pokémon belongs to someone else. It isn't yours!"

"Fafnir, use Ember!" Ray commanded his Bagon.

"Yer really goin' ta use Ember on a Charmander, laddie?"

Ray smirked at this. "But this time don't aim for Charmander, aim for the Poké Ball in that thief's hand."

"Wait... yer goin' ta attack _me_!?" Snag bellowed, although his voice was filled with more fear than anger. "Are ya crazy, laddie!? There are laws against doin' that!"

"Oh yeah, and what's a Team Skull thief gonna do about that?" Ailey pressed Snag. "Gonna go running to the cops? They'll just apprehend you."

Fafnir growled and spat a flurry of small fireballs towards Charmander's Poké Ball. Snag grunted as he realized where the flames were headed and tried stashing the Poké Ball in his pants pocket, but he wasn't quick enough as Fafnir's fireballs pelted at his hand and sent Charmander's Poké Ball flying to the ground. He groaned in pain as he noticed small burns on his hand from the Ember attack.

"Arrgh, not the Poké Ball!" Snag cried out, watching the Poké Ball slowly roll away in horror. Feeling the pain from the small burns on his hand, he quickly fell to his knees and clutched his burnt hand. Not wanting to lose the Poké Ball, he attempted to lunge at it as it continued to roll away.

"Singe, let go of Charmander and get in front of the Poké Ball!" Ailey shouted to her Litten.

Singe nodded and released Charmander from its grip. He leapt in between Snag and Charmander's Poké Ball, turning towards Snag with an angry purr.

"_Now_! Grab it!"

Singe leapt backwards and on top of the Poké Ball. Carefully, with his gaze still fixed on the shocked Team Skull thief, he wrapped his tail around Charmander's Poké Ball and flung it in the direction of his trainer.

"Nice one, Singe!" Ailey cheered as she grabbed Charmander's Poké Ball from the air. "Charmander, come back!"

Ailey pressed onto the Poké Ball and a bright turquoise beam flew towards the fire lizard. Right before the light struck Charmander and sucked it into the Poké Ball, Ailey could momentarily see its eyes wide with horror. She looked at the Poké Ball curiously when Charmander was fully absorbed inside of it.

_That look on your face just now... did you not want to be saved?_

Realizing the job was finished, Fafnir blew smoke out of his mouth to cool down the Ember attack and Singe once again hopped in front of his trainer; both of them standing proudly in front of their trainers again.

"Where's Squirtle!?" Ailey asked angrily when the thoughts of Charmander's loyalty finally left her mind. "And Popplio too!"

"Ya scurvy landlubbers!" Snag shouted out once he realized he had nothing else to defend himself with. He stood up and glared towards the two teenagers that foiled his plans. "Ya may have nabbed me Charmander, but Popplio and Squirtle are still out there. They've already been taken away ta the boss. Yer all gonna pay for this one day, ya hear! If that boy didn't have ta borrow me trusty Skarmory..."

"Beat it, chump," Ailey snickered and held her hands to her hips. "You lost. Go back and cry to your boss if it's such a bother. We'll take on all of you."

Snag grumbled something under his breath and stomped the ground angrily with his foot. Those two trainers got the best of him, but he wasn't the type of person to forget easily. He'd be back, and they'd pay dearly for getting in his way. And the boss surely wouldn't yell at him for losing to them either, as he was able to successfully steal Popplio and Squirtle without a hitch.

_Yes... the mission isn't a total failure. We still managed to steal Popplio and Squirtle. Charmander is just the gravy._

With a deep sigh after recognizing his defeat, Snag turned around and took off in the distance towards the ferry terminal.

"Phew..." Ray panted once Snag was completely out of sight. He wanted to rush behind Snag, but it definitely didn't look like he had any other Pokémon besides Charmander on him. He'd just be wasting his energy by chasing him down.

Ray curiously gazed at the new trainer that rushed to help him with thankful eyes. He was eternally grateful for her help, but this marked the second time that he was about to get into a battle with Fafnir and they ended up being helped out instead: first with Tapu Koko on Mahalo Trail, and now with Ailey coming to his aid.

On top of that, during the battle his mind instantly went to a strategy that didn't even _require _defeating the opposing Pokémon. Why did a strategy like that come to his head? Why wasn't his first thought directed towards defeating Charmander?

"Fafnir and I aren't going to get much stronger if we keep getting helped out. But still, thanks for your help." Ray reiterated. He knew he would eventually get to engage in a full-on battle with Fafnir, but he was patient enough to wait for that moment.

"No problem, buddy boy!" Ailey shot the new boy a thumbs-up. She quickly noticed the island challenge amulet strung around his backpack strap. "Anything for a fellow island challenger, I suppose!"

"I just got my amulet today from Professor Kukui, so I'm still kind of a rookie. He hired me as his courier to make up for it. But even though we're new, Fafnir and I aren't going to be taken lightly! Isn't that right, bud?" Ray grinned and chuckled at his Bagon.

"Grr!" the Dragon-type growled, nodding confidently.

"I just got my island challenge amulet yesterday, so I guess you could say I'm a rookie too. But Singe and I have already been in some serious battles ourselves. We're gonna show Alola that we're the toughest pair around!"

"Mrowr!"

_So she really was one of the new trainers that Professor Kukui gave an amulet to!_

_Clap-clap-clap!_

Ailey and Ray thoughtlessly spun around at the sound of clapping coming from behind them. Two trainers were rushing towards them with relief on their faces.

"Nice of you two to show up when we've already chased Team Skull off!" Ailey teased Hau and Ilima when she recognized them.

"Sorry, Ailey!" Hau cheered in between claps as he ran to his friend. "I heard you shout and came running to help, but it looks like you already chased off the thief before I could get to you."

Hau looked to the unfamiliar brown-haired boy. "And it looks like you had some help, too!"

"Yes, I too heard your shouts," Ilima added. "You didn't even need the help of a brilliant _trial captain _like me."

"Wait... you're a trial captain?" Ray asked in shock. With his dazzling pink-hair and neatly picked clothing he looked less like a traditional Alolan and more like another rich kid. "There's only one captain on Melemele... so you're Ilima?"

"Unfortunately..." Ailey grumbled under her breath.

"Hm, what was that?" Ilima frowned at the blonde girl.

"Nothing," Ailey sighed with a shrug. She would at least have to tolerate his terrible attitude until she finished his trial.

"Yes, I am Ilima, _the_ trial captain of Melemele Island," Ilima answered Ray with heavy pretentiousness in his words.

"I-I'm Ray!" Ray stammered and stuck his hand out for Ilima to shake. "I just got my island challenge amulet today. Guess I'm going to be taking your trial first, huh?"

The pink-haired boy gave Ray a suspicious glare, but ultimately returned the handshake. "Yes, you will most certainly be attempting my trial first. I hope you've been doing some training, because my trial will be difficult for a _newcomer _like you."

Hearing Ilima's infamous signature word sent Ailey's anger to a boiling point again. What was with him and calling everyone a "newcomer"? Especially three promising trainers like Ray, Hau, and herself.

"Newcomer?" Ray tilted his head. What did Ilima mean by that?

"The three of you have undoubtedly just began training your Pokémon," Ilima smugly informed them and peered at the small blue Pokémon standing next to Ray. "That's a Bagon, yes? Your Pokémon looks like it hasn't seen a serious battle yet. And the island trials are difficult for even the most fearsome ace trainers. It'll take you some more training before you can even take on your first trials."

Ray wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what to respond with. Instead, he narrowed his eyes in vexation. Yes, it was true that he hadn't been in a serious battle yet, but who was Ilima to be the judge of that? By the time he took on Ilima's trial, he would surely have enough experience to run right through it.

"Well, isn't that why we're all here?" Ailey once again took offense to Ilima's words. "We're here to bond with our Pokémon and learn independence. That's the entire point of the island challenge, no? And besides, Ray and I just took on Team Skull. That's pretty impressive for a pair of 'newcomers', wouldn't you say?"

"Oh, please..." Ilima scoffed. "I've seen a trainer defeat a Team Skull thug with a mere Magikarp using nothing but Tackle. I hardly expected them to pose any sort of threat to you. And besides, I need to see the strength of the trainers taking on my trial. I need to see if you newcomers really are _good enough_."

"Well I certainly think all three of us are good enough. I've seen that firsthand," Ailey told him confidently. "I'm sure you agree."

"I'm with you, Ailey," Hau interjected. "And I've never even met this Ray guy before, but if he was brave enough to take on Team Skull, then he's for sure good enough!"

"I admire the confidence, that may just get you far," Ilima admitted to Ailey and held his chin in thought. "To be quite honest with you, I look forward to the day you take on my trial, if you can go through with your island challenge that is."

Ailey was prepared to shout at Ilima for pissing her off again, but she was taken aback by what he said. He looked forward to seeing her and the others take on his island challenge? In the short time she'd known him, she definitely didn't expect to hear him admit something like that.

"However, we need to get back to Samson," Ilima suddenly stated with a frown. "He's probably worried about his Pokémon."

"Oh, that's right!" Ailey facepalmed and looked at Charmander's Poké Ball in her hand. It felt so much like it could have been Singe or even her newly caught Buzz in her palm that she forgot Charmander actually wasn't hers. "But what about Squirtle? Shouldn't we be out looking for Squirtle too?"

"Don't forget about Popplio." Ray reminded them, remembering Professor Kukui's first task for him. "Popplio was stolen, too."

"We have no idea where they could be, unfortunately," Ilima told them. "Remember, the only reason we came to the marina was because Samson saw a news report that Team Skull was here bothering some waterside Pokémon. By the time we got here, there was only one Team Skull thief left."

"So you're saying they could already be gone far away?" Hau asked.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be the case," Ilima answered and shook his head. "We can't spend all day looking for something when we don't have any sort of lead. It was pure luck that we managed to come across Charmander. We're going to need more information before we decide to find the other stolen Pokémon."

"You're right..." Ailey reluctantly admitted, watching the ocean. Ilima was right, the Alolan islands were vast with an endless ocean in between them. Squirtle and Popplio could have been anywhere. "We have no idea where to even begin searching. At least we got Charmander, I'm sure Professor Oak would be glad to see it again."

"And besides, I need to thank him for making the PokéDex," Ray added.

"So what do you say?" Ilima asked the trio with a smirk. "Should we head back?"

The three trainers silently nodded and watched as Ilima began to slowly walk away from the marina. Realizing they didn't have much of a choice, they begrudgingly followed him.

* * *

Ray and Ailey returned their Pokémon into their Poké Balls and accompanied Hau and Ilima to the Hau'oli City mall where Samson Oak was waiting for them. Even though there was a nice breeze snaking through the buildings of Hau'oli City, the afternoon heat beat down hard on Melemele Island and the streets were relatively empty with most residents happily taking shelter indoors. The walk was relaxing enough for Ray, Ailey, and their Pokémon to recover from their battle, and Ray was able to finally catch his breath after his long run under the hot sun.

Entering the air conditioned atmosphere of the unsurprisingly crowded mall, Ray walked behind the trio as he still had no idea who any of them were. Ailey and Hau had just began their island challenges like him and Ilima was a trial captain, but how did they all know each other? Were they all friends? Or were they completely unfamiliar with each other, just like Ray? He noticed Ailey and Hau were talking quietly amongst themselves while Ilima silently led the charge into the Hau'oli City Mall; it was becoming more clear that Ailey and Hau were friends whereas Ilima was more of an acquaintance.

Either way, Ray didn't want to relive the awkwardness of his encounter with Lillie all over again. If he wanted to make allies and take on the island challenge with strength, he would have to make friends with all of the different challengers he came across. Awkward silences weren't going to get him anywhere.

"So... who exactly are you guys?" Ray asked as they ascended an escalator. Up until that point, he hadn't uttered a single word to them.

Hau and Ailey stopped their conversation and turned back to face him quizzically. It hadn't occurred to them that they completely ignored Ray's existence on the walk back.

"Well, I'm from Kanto," Ailey answered first, taking off her straw hat to pat down her frazzled strawberry-blonde hair and wipe some sweat off her forehead. Carefully, she put it back it on her head and adjusted it properly. "I just moved here about a week ago with my mom. Still need to get used to the heat!"

Ray looked at Ailey curiously. From the way she talked when he first met her, he could instantly tell she wasn't from Alola. But Kanto of all places? The holy land of Pokémon training? She must have had it in her blood to be a formidable trainer!

"And I've lived in Iki Town my whole life," Hau followed up with a grin. "I'm trying to get stronger and become a kahuna like my tutu! Oh, I'm Hau by the way!"

"Kahuna? Tutu?" Ray asked, squinting his eyes. Those words meant... "Wait a minute... are you Kahuna Hala's grandson?"

Hau grinned brightly and nodded. "Yep! That's my gramps!"

"Wait... your name is Hau... now I remember!" Ray exclaimed, stepping off the escalator behind the trio as it finally reached the top floor. He followed Ilima alongside Ailey and Hau. "I graduated from Hau'oli's Trainers' School so lots of people used to talk about the kahuna's grandson. I guess that was you. That explains how you're on familiar terms with the trial captain, then."

"On the contrary, it was pure chance that we met," Ilima interjected with a wink. "I'm just showing these _newcomers _the ropes. I think they could use a little bit of help here and there."

"Well two of these _newcomers_ are the ones who did all the work..." Ailey grumbled in response to Ilima. It was like every word he said added to the pool of anger inside of her. "And besides, I'm the one who has Charmander. I could easily tell Professor Oak that you did nothing to help."

"Go ahead, tell him," Ilima probed the irritated girl and nodded to a man in a blue button-down shirt in the distance. "Samson is right there."

Ailey initially raised her finger to scold Ilima for calling Professor Oak by his first name, but she frowned and put her finger down when she realized it wasn't worth the effort. Ilima was probably stuck in his ways at this point and it would only make both of them angrier.

"Hello there, children!" Oak greeted the group as he happily walked over to them. He motioned for them to move away from in front of the escalator and in front of a clothing store instead. "Did you find Team Skull?"

Ailey reached into her pocket and pulled out Charmander's Poké Ball and held it out in front of the professor. "We couldn't find Squirtle, professor, but this is Charmander's Poké Ball."

"You all found Charmander?" Oak asked in surprise.

Oak carefully took the Poké Ball out of Ailey's hand and examined it with his fingers. The feeling of the Poké Ball in his hands was familiar; like Ailey had told him, it was undoubtedly Charmander's ball.

"To be fair, it was all Ailey and Ray," Hau chirped. "They were the ones who took on that Team Skull member headfirst! Ilima and I rushed in at the last minute when he was already gone."

Oak looked between Ray and Ailey appreciatively. "Ah, you two were the brave trainers to get Charmander back! But as you said, Squirtle is still out there..." he sighed glumly.

"By the time I got there, there was only one Team Skull member at the marina," Ray informed the professor. He noticed the professor eye him curiously. "Oh, sorry, my name is Ray and I'm Professor Kukui's courier. I was sent to the marina to look for Team Skull because Popplio was stolen."

"Samson Oak," the professor nodded and shook Ray's hand. "Any friend of Kukui's is a friend of mine. You're saying Popplio was stolen too?"

"Yes," Ray nodded nervously. "And just like Squirtle, we weren't able to find it. The Team Skull member we found only had Charmander and said that Popplio and Squirtle had already been sent to the boss. We don't know where they are."

"That's disappointing..." Oak sighed.

"I wish I could do more to help," Ray admitted as he gazed downwards in defeat. "But we really don't know where they are. They could already be with the boss as we speak."

Oak quietly nodded and turned his head away from the group. His cousin Samuel wouldn't be happy to hear about his prized Squirtle being lost, especially since he was initially worried about his starter Pokémon being raised so far away from Kanto. He would have to go through great troubles to request a new set of starter Pokémon for Kanto trainers, and that was never an easy task.

Oak would have to abandon training his cousin's starter Pokémon as the full set was broken apart by Team Skull. Knowing he would likely not see the full set for a long time, it would probably just have been better to give the Pokémon in his possession away. They would be better off in the hands of capable trainers.

"I want to reward you four," Oak stated as he turned back to the group. "But I'm afraid I don't have something that can be divided by all four of you."

"Don't worry about it," Hau responded with a shake of his head. "It's just the job of an island challenger."

"And a _trial captain _as well," Ilima added.

"And besides, Ailey was the one who did all the work," Ray told the professor, giving the blonde a thumbs-up. "If it weren't for her and her Litten, then we wouldn't have even been able to get Charmander's Poké Ball back. She deserves whatever reward you've got more than any of us."

"In that case..." Samson turned back and looked at the blonde girl. Her blue eyes were locked onto his with apprehension. "You there, Ailey. You did me a favor by keeping Charmander with you."

Ailey was just about to voice her agreement with not needing a reward for helping the professor out, but it seemed she wasn't quick enough. Despite that, she was still curious to see what the professor had to offer. Was it a stack of Poké Dollars? Maybe some cool items?

Or maybe even a Pokémon?

"I... thank you..." she nodded politely, her mind still racing at the thought of what Professor Oak would gift her. "But I just held its Poké Ball. It's not like I took it out and tried to train it or anything. Any of us could have held its Poké Ball."

Samson waved her admission off. "Right now that's irrelevant. I'm going to have to train Charmander again regardless, so I'm just glad to have it back with me."

The four teenagers watched in curiosity as Oak dug into the deep pockets of his white cargo shorts. He fidgeted around in his pockets until it looked like he finally found what he was searching for. With a wide grin, he pulled out a plain Poké Ball from his pocket.

Ailey's eyes went wide at the sudden realization.

_That's... a Poké Ball! He's going to give me a Pokémon!_

"Samuel won't have much use for his Pokémon without the full set on hand," Oak began. He held out the Poké Ball for Ailey to take.

"What... are you serious?" Ailey asked, her voice full of wonder as she took the Poké Ball from Oak.

"That Poké Ball contains Bulbasaur, Samuel's favorite Grass-type Pokémon," Oak explained with a grin. "You already have the Fire-type Litten with you, so why not train a Grass-type as well?"

Ray, Hau, and Ilima quietly watched the scene unfold before them in shock. They just expected Ailey would get some sort of cool item. They _never _thought Oak would reward her with an actual Pokémon of her own to raise!

"Bulbasaur..." Ailey muttered as she held its Poké Ball in her hand. She couldn't believe that Oak was so quick to give her a _brand new Pokémon_.

_But... do I really deserve it?_

"I think you'll raise it well." Oak nodded when he saw the doubt in Ailey's eyes. "You went and took on Team Skull for me. A trainer of your caliber should never doubt herself."

"Th-thank you," the grateful girl stammered with a curtsy bow. If Oak was insistent on giving her Bulbasaur, then she would have to accept. "I'll make sure to care for it really well."

She looked at the Poké Ball in awe. Growing up, she always dreamed of traveling through Kanto with either Squirtle, Charmander, or Bulbasaur. And now she had one of them on hand. She would make sure to train it really well.

"I'm sure Bulbasaur would love to help you out on your island challenge," Oak told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Give it the experience that only a true Pokémon trainer can give it. There's nothing that little Bulbasaur wants more than a good adventure."

"I don't know what to say." Ailey shook her head. She carefully placed Bulbasaur's Poké Ball in her satchel. "Don't worry, it'll be the most powerful Bulbasaur you've ever seen once we get training together! It'll come with me all around Alola. And when we're done with our journey, you can show your cousin in Kanto just how powerful it's become!"

"Speaking of training." Oak cleared his throat and caught the glance of the pink-haired trial captain. "Don't you think you should be taking these trainers to the location of your trial now?"

"Fine, fine..." Ilima exhaled with a head-shake. He made sure all three of the newcomers were paying attention. "If you're ready to head to the location of my trial please come with me."

Ailey, Ray, and Hau all glanced at each other quickly. They wanted to get started on their island challenges quickly, but they didn't want to rush into anything too fast. Each of them had some training they wanted to do before even attempting the trial.

"I'll come along with you," Ailey answered the trial captain. "But I'm mostly just going to be training on the way there. I still need some time to see what Singe and Buzz are capable of, and I need to start getting familiar with Oak's Bulbasaur."

"_Your _Bulbasaur," Oak corrected the girl with a bright smile. "It's not mine anymore!"

"In that case, I'll come along too!" Hau pumped his fist. He couldn't let Ailey get ahead of him! "I still need to do some training myself. And besides, Ailey's now got three Pokémon to my two, I need to catch up! Maybe I can find a cool new Pokémon pal for myself on the way there to keep Rowlet and Pikipek company."

Ailey looked towards Ray, who seemed like he was deep in thought.

"Wanna come along with us, Ray?" she asked the boy.

Ray initially opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it and shook his head. The thought of taking on the island challenge with a group of new friends sounded amazing, but he still had some things of his own that he needed to take care of.

Finally, he answered. "Actually, I think I'm going to stay back in Hau'oli City for some time. I still need to get some training done with Fafnir and I need to tell Professor Kukui about Popplio."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, positive." Ray nodded. "Professor Kukui isn't going to be happy to find out that Popplio is still out there, so I should probably tell him in person. After all, he hired me for a reason."

Ilima shrugged and began to head towards the escalators. With a wave of his hand he motioned for Ailey and Hau to follow him. It didn't seem like he wanted to spend any more time chit-chatting with Ray and Samson.

"Alrighty then, see you later buckaroo! Can't wait to run into you again!" Ailey waved at Ray, who returned the gesture. Finally turning her back to Ray, she followed Ilima towards the escalator out of the mall.

"Fair enough, bud!" Hau exclaimed to Ray as he carefully walked backwards towards the escalators. "But don't get caught too far behind us! We'll definitely meet again soon, so promise me we can have a full-strength battle when we do! Seeee yaaaaaa!"

"Oh for _sure _I can promise that!" Ray laughed. "See ya!"

And with that, Ray and Oak watched as Ailey and Hau headed off for their first trial with Ilima. They had long roads ahead of them, but Ray was sure they would be just fine.

_Don't worry, Fafnir and I will be right behind you guys. And we'll have an awesome battle next time. Heh... maybe I can even take on both of you?_

* * *

_**A/N: **__Whew, this ended up being a mildly long one, but __that's a wrap for Chapter 5! Like I said earlier, a big event happened in this chapter: **the two playable main characters finally met!** This doesn't happen in the games, so I had to make a completely original scene for their meeting point, which is why the chapter took so long to write, touch-up, and upload. You know what they say: your worst critic is yourself! Once again, I truly apologize for the delay, but I didn't want to rush out a chapter just for the sake of uploading something._

_As I've stated before, I've included the character bios for the **main characters only** on my main profile. However, since I can't overcrowd my main profile with all the characters met in the story, I've also created a main hub on the **Pokémon ****Fanon wiki (pokemonfanon. wikia**** .com)**. The hub page is called "Pokemon - The Darkness of Alola" with no accent on the "e" and each character has the "(TDoA)" suffix. So for example, if you wanted to look up Ailey's profile, you would have to type in "Ailey (TDoA)" into the search bar. I'll include character bios of **every **character that appears in the series there in addition to short chapter summaries (if possible). I'll try to put a reminder of the wiki page's existence in my author's note at the end of every chapter just in case you get lost or forget something._

_Thanks so much for reading, you have no idea how much I appreciate the support. Don't be afraid to leave me feedback in the form of a review or a PM, I always appreciate it whether it's good or bad!_

_Next up, we'll see Ailey get familiar with her new Pokémon! What do you guys think will happen to Charmander, Squirtle, and Popplio?_

**_#BulbasaurMasterRace_**

**_Translations:_**

_Tutu - Grandparent_


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